Selangor Covid-19 Task Force chief against full-blown MCO

 

Dzulkefly Ahmad said the state was still managing the Covid-19 situation well.

PETALING JAYA: Selangor Covid-19 Task Force chairman Dzulkefly Ahmad is against enforcing a full-blown movement control order (MCO) in the state, similar to the nationwide lockdown imposed in March last year.

The former health minister said the state was still managing the Covid-19 situation well, adding that its infectivity rate was lower than that of Kelantan and Pahang.

Dzulkefly said this in a joint press conference with Selangor executive councillor for public health Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud today who also agreed with Dzulkefly, saying it would be detrimental to the livelihoods of Selangorians.

Earlier this week, health minister Dr Adham Baba said the health ministry was considering enforcing stricter SOPs or even a full-scale MCO in Selangor if the state fails to curb the spread of Covid-19.

He was asked why the MCO rules in Selangor were the same as in other states, despite its higher number of infections.

Dzulkefly said any decision to enforce a full MCO must not be made solely based on the daily Covid-19 numbers and statistics.

“If the government wanted to look at statistics, they should use case incidences per 100,000 population and deaths per one million population. Based on those data, Selangor is at number four.

Dzulkefly added that the ultimate purpose of an MCO was to increase hospital capacity.

“Numbers will always be high and higher in Selangor. However, are our hospitals that burdened that we have to enforce a crude, blunt and draconian lockdown?”

He noted that the Selangor Health Department was already expecting up to 1,600 additional hospital beds, with 300 beds designated for intensive care units (ICUs).

He also asked that the government consider the economic impact of a full lockdown on the people, especially those in informal sectors.

Meanwhile, Siti said that it was unfair to blame the Selangor state government for the surge in cases.

“We are not pushing blame on anybody but we do have a problem with policy.”

She said that the state government’s function in health issues were complementary to that of the federal government.

“We cannot go against policies set by the health ministry. We have proposed a few things were not accepted (by the health ministry),” she said. - FMT