By Wan Faizal Ismayatim
SHAH ALAM, April 9 — The Federal government should extend the movement control order (MCO) by tightening the measures in the Covid-19 red zones and allowing some leeway in safer areas, says the Selangor Task Force for Covid-19 (STFC) chairman.
Datuk Seri Dzulkefly Ahmad said it is important is for the public to practise social distancing and to not go out in groups as the Covid-19 chain of infection has yet to be broken.
He said the measures by putting the control order in place was the right move and the results are showing based on the average number of daily recorded cases.
“However, the enforced MCO has left a large dent on the economy as many small traders, entrepreneurs, and corporate companies are affected by it.
“Therefore, we have to to be quick on our feet and come up with an analysis on the extension of the MCO after April 14 and cannot simply end the order just yet as we have yet to see the number of new cases showing a downward trend,” said Dzulkefly, who is also the former health minister, during an online talk show hosted by Institut Darul Ehsan (IDE) executive Hanif Ahmad, earlier today.
The panellist on the show included the IDE CLuster Research member Prof Dr Azami Zahrim.
Meanwhile, Dzulkefly had suggested for the government and private companies to do antibody tests on all workers and frontliners to determine their immunity levels.
He said those with antibodies and are not exposed to the virus should be allowed to return to work, which would then allow businesses to resume operations.
“The private sector and the Federal government has to identify the level of the antibodies of the workers, especially those in the frontline. The test cost between RM18 and RM20.
“We should not allow the economy to crash because of this pandemic,” he said.
