Rising Covid-19 cases in Selangor proves CMCO was the right move - Health DG

 

COVID-19 | The recent spike in the number of Covid-19 cases recorded in Selangor has proven that the government was right in imposing the conditional movement control order on the Klang Valley, said the Health Ministry.

Its director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah told reporters the situation today could have been worse if the preventive measure had not been taken.

"Looking at the distribution of cases according to districts in the country, it is clear that the proactive decision to impose conditional MCO on Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya was correct," he said.

"If we were to wait until zones or districts in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya to turn into red zones first (before imposing conditional MCO), it probably would have been too late to contain the outbreak," Noor Hisham added.

The top MOH officer was speaking to reporters in a daily press conference organised by the ministry to provide updates on the pandemic situation in Malaysia.

For the record, Selangor recorded 176 new cases as of today, and 2,308 cases in the past 14 days excluding cases that were imported across state or district borders.

Together with Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, and Negeri Sembilan, the states and federal territories reported a total of 427 cases today - more than half of the total number of cases recorded in the country as of noon.

Half of cases are 'sporadic'

The increase happens as MOH started seeing a decline in the number of cases in Sabah, which had been a hotbed for Covid-19 and pandemic deaths since September.

"So now our concern is no longer Sabah, but the Peninsular. We are now focusing on the Klang Valley and Negeri Sembilan, looking at activities, identifying localities which have high density.

"We are also identifying localities which we suspect (at high risk) and will place them under the targeted enhanced movement control order (Temco)," he said.

Noor Hisham said that they have received objections before imposing conditional MCO in Selangor.

"But that's a proactive measure. See now, if we haven't placed (Selangor under conditional MCO) earlier, perhaps it will be worse than Sabah."

According to him, data shows that the cases in Selangor are more widespread, and poses a higher risk due to its higher population density and higher mobility.

Reported cases in the state are also not confined to one area, but instead are well distributed.

"Sporadic cases make up 50 percent of infections," said Noor Hisham. - Mkini