THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
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[Malaysia] We are flattening the curve, but still in an uphill battle

[Malaysia] We are flattening the curve, but still in an uphill battle

KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama): After a month of the movement control order (MCO), which was introduced on March 18, the government’s efforts to break the chain of Covid-19 infections is showing positive results.

Yesterday (April 15), Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the number of daily positive cases has started to drop to double digits compared with the day before, a sign that the strategy to defeat the virus through the MCO was the right move to make.

In fact, the number of daily recovered cases is now 169, twice that of new cases recorded on Tuesday (April 14).

However, it is still too early to be satisfied with these facts because for as long as the curve of infections is not flattened, for as long as there are still deaths being recorded, and for as long as the country is not free of Covid-19, the war against the killer virus has still not been won.

As Dr Noor Hisham said, the third phase of the MCO, which enters the second day today (April 16), is a critical period in determining the success of the efforts to fight Covid-19.

This success rate is not determined just by the number of experts and health facilities in the country, but also the public’s compliance with the MCO.

The result of this non-compliance only means that the measures taken by the frontliners including the Health Ministry, the police and the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) have been wasted.

According to the police, during phase one and two of the MCO, 14,922 people were detained for non-compliance.

It was this attitude of people that forced the government’s hand into imposing stricter action by dragging them to court after the RM1,000 compound previously imposed did not seem to deter errant individuals from violating the order.

Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob has said that a “special place” awaits these people as the government will gazette 13 prison academies as detention centres for them.

Although these centres are academies, there will be no special food for these people, who will be subject to the same regulations and laws as in normal prisons, so anyone who continues to violate the MCO should be prepared for this. – Bernama

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