Minister to suggest full MCO in S'gor, given spike in Covid-19 cases
The Health Ministry believes that a full version of the movement control order (MCO) may be the way to go for Selangor, given the high number of new Covid-19 cases recorded in the state.
Its minister Dr Adham Baba told reporters today that there is the need to advise the government for a stricter control measure as the one in place now has not been able to curb infection.
"The MCO in Selangor was initially imposed...
The Health Ministry believes that a full version of the movement control order (MCO) may be the way to go for Selangor, given the high number of new Covid-19 cases recorded in the state.
Its minister Dr Adham Baba told reporters today that there is the need to advise the government for a stricter control measure as the one in place now has not been able to curb infection.
"The MCO in Selangor was initially imposed on six districts before it was widened nationwide. The order bans inter-district travelling.
"This has allowed the Health Ministry to carry out Covid-19 testings and contact tracing. We are doing this with cooperation from the state government, which is conducting RTK Antigen tests in areas where there is a high epidemic link and speed up contact tracing activities.
"This allows health authorities to take preventive measures under the public health approach.
"However, I agree that we need to suggest the government take a stricter measure in MCO and standard operating procedures, seeing how (the current version) is unable to curb infection.
"Imposing a full version of MCO is one of the things that can be considered," he told a virtual press conference organised by the Covid-19 Vaccine Supply Access Guarantee Special Committee (JKJAV) this afternoon.
Adham, who co-chairs the committee, was answering a reporter's question on whether there is the need for stricter movement control measures in Selangor.
This came as the state continues to record a high number of daily cases, even after MCO was imposed on the whole country on May 12.
As of noon today, Selangor tops the chart as the state with the highest number of new Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours with 1,650, from a total of 4,446 cases recorded nationwide.
The state also recorded a high number of pandemic-related deaths in the past few days.
Yesterday, the Health Ministry posted on its Facebook page several photos of a container placed at the Sungai Buloh Hospital, to serve as extra storage for bodies of Covid-19 victims.
Asked about this during the presser, Adham said the container was placed there as preparation to provide more space, as remains of those diagnosed with the coronavirus take time to be processed before they can be released.
Meanwhile, Adham told reporters that the current phase of the pandemic is seeing more cases among younger age groups, compared to previously where most of the cases involved senior citizens.
For deaths and those who need intensive care treatment, he said most of the cases involved those with comorbidity.
“Lately, we also found that cases of Category 3, 4 and 5 are also increasing.
“This is worrying because they have to do with new variants that we are seeing today. We are monitoring,” he said.
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