The rate of public compliance to the Movement Control Order (MCO) is now at 97 per cent, not the full percentage that the government wants to achieve to break the chain of COVID-19 infections.

There are still people who insist on hanging out in coffee shops and other public places, even violating the traffic rules imposed during the MCO. The most common reason given is that they are going out to buy food. But is it really necessary to go out four times a day to forage for food?

Tomorrow is the 14th day the MCO has been imposed, and there are two more weeks for Malaysians to improve their compliance rate. And the way for them to do this is by disciplining themselves to 'stay at home', and venturing out only when it is absolutely necessary.

Tomorrow too, the MCO is expected to go into the second stage, with sterner action taken against those who violate it, and hopefully it will not be extended beyond April 14, as warned by Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob recently.

Today too, the government will begin the COVID-19 Public Sanitation Operations throughout the country, involving hotspot locations which are Red Zones and Orange Zones, in a collaborative effort between the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, the local authorities, and solid waste management concession companies.

Besides the MCO, this is a serious effort by the government to eradicate COVID-19, where as of noon yesterday, 150 new cases were recorded, bringing the total number of positive cases in the country to 2,470, with 34 deaths.

The disinfecting process has already been carried out by various state governments, with focus on high-risk areas.

Among the first ones to conduct the operations was Kuala Lumpur City Hall which launched a massive exercise in the city last Saturday, starting with Seri Petaling which was a red zone area.

Since early this week too, almost all the local governments in Perak have conducted similar operations in their respective areas, with focus on public markets, parks and recreational areas. Similarly, since March 23, the Klang Municipal Council has carried out operations in 35 areas.

Yesterday, after he visited a supermarket in the federal capital, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said he was happy to see that more people were complying with the requirement for social distancing during the MCO period.

"Yesterday, I visited a supermarket in Kuala Lumpur. I was looking for a few things and I also wanted to see how the public was at the supermarket. Alhamdulillah, many are now observing social distancing," he said in a posting on social media.

The response of netizens to the posting was positive, with people praising Muhyiddin as a leader who kept to his word that only the head of a household is allowed to go out of the house to purchase essential items especially food.

At midnight today, the Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO) was imposed in the Batu 21 to Batu 24 district in Sungai Lui, Hulu Langat, Selangor, involving seven villages and 700 homes.- BERNAMA