Virologist cautious about need to open up nation
KUALA LUMPUR: The move to implement the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) needs to be planned and cannot be rushed.
Virologist Professor Emeritus Datuk Dr Lam Sai Kit was cautious about the need to open up the nation as the number of Covid-19 cases was high.
Lam, a senior fellow at the Malaysian Academy of Sciences and research consultant of Universiti Malaya, stressed on the need for a better control plan than the CMCO.
“I am aware of the economic impact following the implementation of the MCO, which has caused an estimated loss of RM63 billion. However, we need a better control plan than the CMCO, opening sectors or businesses by focusing on public safety compared with economic recovery,” he said yesterday.
Starting today, the government would implement the CMCO by allowing some sectors to operate, but in a controlled manner, under certain standard operating procedures (SOP).
However, the government warned that any sector that failed to comply with the SOP would be ordered close immediately, enabling the implementation of the Enhanced MCO in the event of new Covid-19 infections.
Health directorgeneral Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah had said that the first week of the CMCO should be used by employers and workers to strategise, plan and implement new changes at their workplaces.
Lam urged the government to listen to the people’s concerns about the need to review the implementation of the CMCO.
He said up to Saturday, a petition organised by Concerned Malaysian Citizens on change.org had garnered more than 300,000 signatures calling for the CMCO to be reviewed.
“I have also signed this petition as a sign of concern about the safety risk to the people, as well as worries associated with the implementation of the CMCO.
“At the same time, I urge people to continue practising social distancing, staying at home, frequently washing hands, working from home and avoiding crowded areas.”
The number of Covid-19 infection cases was not showing any significant decline, with many local infections being reported, comprising 95 cases out of the 105 new cases detected on Saturday.
Malaysia’s testing capacity was also not at the same level of other nations, especially in the use of RT-pcr tools, as advised by the visiting Chinese health specialists.
“We are also not able to reduce the (Covid-19) hotspots and there are many locations under the EMCO. When the MCO is relaxed, there is a possibility of an increase in the number of (Covid19) clusters and new infections.
“Are we able to handle it if there is an increase (in Covid-19 cases)? How can we ensure that people play their role in preventing the spread of this outbreak?”
Lam backed the move by Sarawak, Kedah and Selangor to delay the implementation of the CMCO.