MCO extended or not? Dr Noor Hisham provides strongest hints yet

The decision on whether the Movement Control Order (MCO) will be extended or not hinges on several factors set by the Ministry of Health (MOH).

Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said that before looking at the possibility of ending the MCO, the ministry had to come up with an exit strategy first.

“So, what is important before we look at ending the MCO, we must have an exit strategy and among the indicators are a reduction in cases that are still being treated for infectivity.

"At present, we have 2,198 cases but if these cases are reduced, it means we have less cases of infectivity in the community, from one individual to another," he said.

In addition, he added that the second factor is to use surveillance methods that have been implemented since January to track daily cases.

“From January, we have looked into cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) in the community.

"At present we have 114 cases and if we look at our screening, or our day-to-day monitoring finds cases are decreasing, that may be another indication for us to advise the National Security Council to end the MCO," he added.

In addition, Dr Noor Hisham said it was important to look at specific areas and the density of an area, whether or not there were new infections or clusters in the area.

"There may be one case that are able to be detected but more importantly it does not become a large cluster.

"Thus, our action is active case detection (ACD) needs to be carried out from time to time," he said.

However, he explained, the most important indicator is the ability of the health labs, whether or not the labs can detect cases quickly and accurately.

“Next is our hospital's ability to accommodate the number of patients. If a patient comes to the hospital, we are able to provide the best treatment for our patients.

"So far, for the cases admitted to the hospital and although mildly symptomatic, we still admit them and monitor.

“And if those with more symptoms or have inflammation of the lungs, we will give them the best treatment.

“Currently, those in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) are lesser or only 4.9 per cent. So, what is important is that we give our patients the best possible care,” Dr Noor Hisham said.