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Malaysia health chief: Soldier on though end of Covid nowhere in sight

This article is more than 12 months old

PUTRAJAYA Malaysia's Health Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a Facebook post yesterday that the end of Covid-19 infections in the country was nowhere in sight, but people need to soldier on.

"It saddens me today that we have endured one year of fighting against Covid-19 in our country. The end is nowhere near to be seen. However, despite the mental and physical fatigue, we all need to soldier on.

"Everyone, no matter who you are, must shoulder this responsibility to save our country together," he said.

There has been speculation in Malaysia that stricter controls may be imposed after the movement control order (MCO) ends on Feb 4.

But the Health Ministry has hinted that the current MCO will end, followed by three months of conditional MCO.

Dr Noor Hisham said the government is not keen on implementing the MCO for a long period as livelihoods could be affected.

"We do not want to prolong the MCO. If we implement the MCO for four weeks until early February, and then followed by a conditional MCO for three months, we hope we can reduce the number of Covid-19 cases to double figures," he said.

Dr Noor Hisham said a prolonged MCO will be detrimental to the economy.

"If we prolong the MCO, our economy could be affected. We need to balance health and economy, as well as life and livelihood," he added.

Malaysia reported 3,048, cases yesterday, fewer than the 3,346 cases reported on Sunday. - THE STAR

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