THE movement control order (MCO) will be reinstated if the R0 value of Covid-19, now at 0.3, exceeds 1.

Director-general of health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the R0, or the number of new infections estimated to stem from a single case, was 3.5 at the start of the MCO.

“The R0 has been successfully reduced to 0.3, which is the follow-up to positive actions taken by the government.

“However, if the people refuse to follow the guidelines, then the R0 will increase,” he said today at a daily press conference on Covid-19, in Putrajaya.

The R0 is a gauge for the contagiousness of an infectious disease. The aim is to reach a value below 1. 

An R0 of 4, for instance, means that an infected person will infect four others.

Noor Hisham said the R0 could be further lowered if Malaysians followed health and safety standard operating procedures (SOPs) under the CMCO. 

He attributed the reduction in the R0 rate to the gradual easing of the MCO.

“Subsequently, to ensure that the value of R0 remains less than one, social empowerment is very important.

“All Malaysians must play their part to contain the Covid-19 outbreak. This can be done by taking precautionary measures recommended by the ministry, in particular, by complying with the SOPs.”

He said social gatherings and other activities that pose a heightened risk of infection were still prohibited.

“The ministry also wants to advise the public to remember to avoid crowded places, confined spaces and speaking in close proximity.

“If everyone – traders, employers, workers and the public – were to abide by the MCO and SOPs set by the government, the R0 will continue to go down and the Covid-19 outbreak will end.” – May 13, 2020.