KUALA LUMPUR, May 13 — Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said that the effect of the conditional movement control order (CMCO) can only be known after the 14-day incubation period, which is on May 18.
He said that any further relaxation or if there is need to go back to the movement control order (MCO) is dependent on the public’s responsibility in following the standard operating procedures (SOP).
“Also, whether the cases will spread or increase during this period also depends on the public,” he said in his daily briefing on the Covid-19 updates.
However, Dr Noor Hisham said that despite some relaxation given under the CMCO, he stressed the Ministry of Health will constantly monitor the Covid-19 situation.
Earlier, Dr Noor Hisham said that Malaysia’s R0 or R nought figure has dropped to 0.3.
R0 is a virus’ rate of reproduction used to gauge how contagious a disease is. The mathematical term indicates the average number of people who will contract a contagious disease from one person with that disease.
An R0 of 0.3 means that a group of 10 persons can infect merely three others.
On May 4, Malaysia announced the CMCO which was the fifth phase of the MCO, and which has since been extended until June 9.
Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said today that the government could reintroduce the original MCO if Malaysians continue ignoring the guidelines for the relaxed version currently in place.
The senior minister stressed that restrictions from the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 remain in effect nationwide, with the government expecting full compliance in order to prevent the exponential growth of Covid-19 infections.
