By Mustakim Ramli
KAJANG, May 9 — The movement order control (MCO) that is enforced for two weeks in the six districts in Selangor is considered as a short period of time but cannot be extended for too long as it would bring a harmful impact.
Selangor Task Force for Covid-19 (STFC) head Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said the state requires at least 28 days of MCO in order to bring down the number of Covid-19 cases.
Citing the first MCO last March which stretched for nearly three months long, the former Health Minister said that the number of infections were successfully reduced but gave a large negative impact, especially on the people.
“The most important thing is not to extend the duration (of the MCO) but it is the enforcement and compliance (of SOP) during the period… because we know how it (the MCO) would affect the people.
“If we want to enforce the MCO, it has to be firm and stringent but short. It cannot be for too long as it would impact the economy,” said Dr Dzulkefly when met at the free Covid-19 community screening at the Cempaka Hall in Saujana Impian, here yesterday.
Meanwhile, he added that the mass screenings held in the state would reflect an increase in new cases but it would then be able to trace the potential spread of the coronavirus and contain it.
“We fail if we play catch-up with the virus instead of containing it. We would only be able to curb it by increasing testings and then isolating the positive cases.
“We should not allow those who are found positive to roam around, which is why the rapid test kit is important compared to the 48-hour waiting period as the latter would give the individual time to go elsewhere. This is why we had failed in containing (the infection),” he added.
Six districts in Selangor, namely Hulu Langat, Petaling, Gombak, Klang, Kuala Langat and Sepang, are under the MCO from May 6 to 17, while the three remaining districts — Kuala Selangor, Sabak Bernam and Hulu Selangor — would continue to be under the conditional MCO (CMCO).
