Ismail Sabri confident govt will not implement total lockdown like first MCO

Before Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin reveals new measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic on Monday, Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob has urged Malaysians to stay calm and not to be easily taken in by fake news or assumptions before a decision is announced. He said this during his visit to flood victims at Sekolah Kebangsaan Kerayong relief centre.

He assured that the people will be given ample time to make necessary preparations before any measure is implemented to control the recent surge of new COVID-19 cases in the country. He advised people not to resort to panic buying due to speculation that a stricter Movement Control Order (MCO) would be implemented soon.

He said was confident that the government will not implement a total lockdown like the previous MCO. He added that whatever the decision is, it won’t be enforced immediately and the government will provide two, three or more days to prepare.

Last Friday, the Senior Minister said the government is fine tuning the immediate measures required to reduce the increase in new daily cases. He did mentioned that SOPs will be tightened particularly for social activities. Malaysia is currently under the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) until the 31st March 2021.

It is likely that the government may reintroduce interstate and interdistrict travel restrictions as recommended by the Ministry of Health. The lifting of interstate travel on 7th December was seen as a contributing factor for the recent increase of new cases.

Sarawak has reported a surge in new cases today after a woman who have travelled from Johor to Sibu, Sarawak to attend a funeral was found positive during her home quarantine. A total of 37 new COVID-19 cases were reported under the newly identified Pasai cluster and 8 longhouses were placed under lockdown.

Malaysia continues to record over 2,000 daily new cases for 5 straight days and there are currently 133,599 total cases with 26,185 still receiving treatment. The COVID-19 vaccination program is expected to begin next month with priority given to frontliners and high-risk groups.

[ SOURCE , IMAGE SOURCE ]

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