PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia is in the final phase of recovery following the implementation of the movement control order (MCO), enforced since March 18, which has successfully reduced the number of new Covid-19 cases.
Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said with the implementation of the conditional MCO (CMCO) since May 4, it had reduced the infectivity rate, or R-Naught (RO) to 0.3, compared with 0.6 during the MCO period.
“So, when we look at (the Covid-19 situation in Malaysia) we have the modelling.
“Before the MCO, the infectivity RO was 3.55, meaning one person could infect 3.55 people. When we implemented the MCO, we reduced the RO to 0.6 and now (during the CMCO), the R0 is 0.3.
“It means that an infected person can only infect 0.3 people, so it is decreasing. Looking at future cases, the model is working well. Right now, we are in the final stages of recovery,” he said during an interview with Bernama here.
R0 is a mathematical term that indicates how contagious an infectious disease is. It’s also referred to as the reproduction number. As an infection is transmitted to new people, it reproduces itself.
It tells the average number of people who will contract a contagious disease from one person with that disease. Reducing the RO value to less than one continuously will help to end the outbreak of the disease.
Noor Hisham said the health ministry would continue to monitor the situation in the country throughout the CMCO period, which is supposed to end on June 9.
“If the number of new cases can be maintained at a one-digit number for more than a week, then it is likely that 100% of the economic sector can be opened, as well as the social and educational sectors,” he added.
He said based on data obtained from May 4 to 29, after the CMCO came into force, there were only about 200 cases involving Malaysians out of the 1,800 new Covid-19 cases reported in the country.
“This means that the CMCO is a success. Even with the MCO, we managed to flatten the curve. This success was possible not only by what was done by the health ministry or the government but because Malaysians adhered to the SOP.”
Noor Hisham said that besides facing a sudden increase in cases involving illegal immigrants at the immigration detention depots, the health ministry also anticipated an increase with the interstate travel during the Aidilfitri celebration.
However, he said, a surge in the number of cases would not happen and the situation would be under control if the people continue to comply with the SOPs set by the government.
“Maybe, there will be an increase in cases, but not a drastic increase. So, if the people follow the SOPs, we might not get the third wave. We are waiting. Hari Raya Aidilfitri is over. Maybe in two weeks, we will see new cases every day.
“If the number of cases is maintained at two digits or one figure, the CMCO period will end on June 9. We’ll see how things go,” he said.
No deaths due to Covid-19 were reported in Malaysia for the past seven days until yesterday.
The cumulative number of Covid-19 fatalities in the country remains at 115 cases, or 1.49% of the total number of 7,732 Covid-19 cases in Malaysia.
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