CMCO in several states may be lifted, says Ismail Sabri

 

COVID-19 | Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said some states, which have recorded a low number of Covid-19 cases, may see the conditional movement control order (CMCO) imposed on them lifted.

He said the Health Ministry will present a risk evaluation report on this to the National Security Council (NSC) by Friday.

A conditional MCO had been imposed on almost all states except Pahang, Kelantan, Perlis and Sarawak. It is due to end on Dec 6.

"The Health Ministry is doing its evaluation based on the number of cases, and it will present (this to the NSC) on Friday.

"If there is no increase in cases, and their status turns green, then maybe we will end the conditional MCO on these states," Ismail Sabri said.

The minister also announced that the Human Resources Ministry is studying the best way to manage the spread of Covid-19 cases among foreign workers in the country.

"This morning, a representative from the Human Resources Ministry presented to the technical committee on matters pertaining to foreign workers.

"First, on the need to screen foreign workers in the country, but the challenge is that there are 1.7 million foreign workers here.

"How long will the test take place, and how many labs do we have? And whether it's PCR or RTK-Antigen test?

"The Social Security Organisation (Socso) agreed to pay some of the cost for the swab test, but workers who are not covered by Perkeso have to pay in full. So this is also an issue.

"We suggested (to the ministry) to start with states that have a lot of industries, such as Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and Penang," Ismail Sabri said.

Other problems which the HR Ministry needs to study include packed accommodation and whether the workers need to wear a special bracelet when going out in public places, he added. - Mkini