THE Health Ministry will step up Covid-19 surveillance when the movement-control order (MCO) is relaxed next week.

Director-General Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the government directive has achieve its aim of flattening the coronavirus curve, and the next step is to manage the disease in the community.

“The enhanced MCO (EMCO) will still be used if the number of infections rises. Border control will also be enhanced.

“We need to manage the virus in the community. If we look at our surveillance now compared with the first week of April, it shows that detection is decreasing.

“However, we are going to increase surveillance nationwide and contain the virus,” he told a daily press conference on Covid-19 in Putrajaya today.

If people do not follow the standard operating procedure, leading to a spike in cases, the EMCO will be implemented, he said.

“We will close off the area and conduct screening, and separate those who test positive.

“For example those working in factories, restaurants… they will have to follow the SOP.”

He said the authorities will carry out monitoring and enforcement.

“For restaurants, they come under the purview of local councils.

“The main thing is, they have to follow the SOP.

“Our success is because the public is practising social distancing. Continuing this and wearing masks is the way to go.”

Of the 69 new Covid-19 cases reported today, 57 involved locals. This brings Malaysia’s total infections to 6,071.

Dr Noor Hisham said another 39 patients were discharged from hospital in the last 24 hours.

He said a 66-year-old coronavirus patient, who had cancer, died yesterday, taking the country’s fatalities to 103. – May 1, 2020.