Health DG denies allegation CMCO fails to curb COVID-19

He said the CMCO had made it possible for the R-naught (R0) or infectivity rate to drop from 2.2 at the start of the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic to 1.0 at the moment.

"If we compare the start of the third wave and the two-week period (of CMCO implementation), it has succeeded in reducing the infectivity rate," he added.

He said the high of 1,755 COVID-19 cases yesterday was because the Health Ministry (MOH) conducted screenings at the Temporary Detention Centre in Tawau and Sandakan Prison in Sabah as well as at Seberang Perai Prison in Penang.

"Before that there were two spikes in cases, on Oct 24 and 26, because MOH conducted screenings at the Kepayan Prison in Sabah," he said.

Dr Noor Hisham said the CMCO was implemented to strike a balance between health and the economy but the government needed to tighten controls on the social sector, including disallowing inter-district and interstate travel.

"Our challenge is to control and tighten the social sector, as we can see that in the past two or three days many crossed districts and state borders, from red to green zones," he said.

Today, Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that the CMCO would be implemented in all states in peninsular Malaysia except Pahang, Perlis and Kelantan for four weeks from Nov 9 to Dec 6.