THE movement-control order (MCO) has prevented a spike in Covid-19 cases, said Director-General of Health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah today.

He said the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) had predicted a jump in infections up to yesterday.

“We compared the (projected) trajectory to Health Ministry numbers until March 31.

“Their (MIER’s) report showed a sharp increase in cases, but because of the MCO, we can see that the cases are lower in number.

“We can see, based on our statistics, that there are signs of success because of the actions taken under the MCO,” he told a press conference at the ministry in Putrajaya.

According to MIER’s projection, March 24 would see 236 new cases. The Health Ministry, however, recorded 106.

The institute predicted an increase of 400 cases yesterday, but ministry data showed a decline to 140.

Dr Noor Hisham said this illustrates that efforts to break the chain of infections over the last month are working.

“The next two weeks will show if the government’s action has an impact.

“In phase two (of the MCO), we have to elevate our strategy and activities, especially in hotspots.

“If the numbers increase, we will have to enforce an emergency MCO (lockdown) and screen everyone in the affected areas.”

The number of infections will go down if everyone adheres to the MCO, he said.

“The low numbers from the Health Ministry show a flattening of the curve. We hope that in the next two weeks, we can bring down the number of cases.” – April 1, 2020.