It’s been over a month now since the Movement Control Order (MCO) was implemented throughout the whole country. We’ve lost track of how many days it’s been and have even gotten our days mixed up!
Photo via Malay Mail
After this third phase of the MCO, Malaysians are eager to find out whether this will eventually end on 28 April, and will we be able to resume our normal lives again?
According to the Malay Mail, Health DG Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah said there must first be six criteria that we have to tick off before the government could consider lifting the MCO.
What are the 6 criteria? Well, here it is:
Border Control
Movement Control Order
Health System
Steps in protecting high-risk groups
Sticking to the new norms
Working with the authorities to come up with a ‘soft landing’ strategy
Dr. Noor Hisham explains that border control is necessary to prevent a stream of people coming into the country at once. As for now, out of the thousands of Malaysians that returned home, there have been 95 cases.
The MCO, which is key in keeping Malaysians to stay at home and to prevent large gatherings, could help in containing the spread of the virus. As for the health system, Dr. Noor Hisham mentioned that Malaysia needs to have a good health system and to improve its testing standards to handle the pandemic.
The healthcare system must also be able to protect those who are more at risk of catching the virus, such as the elderly, the handicapped, and those with underlying health conditions. Other than that, the fifth criteria is to make sure that Malaysians are able to adapt to the new norms, such as to continue practicing social distancing and implementing good hygiene.
Lastly, we still need to identify all the areas that have been hit hard by COVID-19 and to ensure that their communities are working closely with the Ministry of Health, so that the virus doesn’t spread any further. Dr. Noor Hisham also mentioned that only when the cases begin to drop to single-digit numbers, can the government consider lifting the MCO.
Heads up, guys, the authorities are doing their best to make sure that the numbers of infections go down. All we can do to help is to stay at home, keep ourselves healthy and keep practicing social distancing!
By: Aishah Akashah Ahadiat
