PUTRAJAYA had no choice but to re-impose the conditional movement control order (CMCO) in the Klang Valley and Sabah as it is the most effective way to break the chain of Covid-19 infections, said Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

The health director-general said this had to be done to stop the spread of the virus to all states, or worse, the entire nation.

Noor Hisham said the decision was made after Sabah and the Klang Valley recorded sharp increases in daily new infections in recent weeks.

“This is a proactive and effective action to ensure that public health preparedness is well-planned,” he said in a virtual press conference today.

Although Covid-19 cases in Klang Valley are relatively under control, Noor Hisham said that it has consistently recorded new cases daily.

“For the Klang Valley, which includes Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, although the number of cases recorded on a daily basis is less than 100, it consistently records new infections on a daily basis.

“These cases are scattered around the Klang Valley and are now beginning to spread in all districts, except Sabak Bernam in Selangor.

“We can no longer wait for the yellow zones to turn into red zones to implement the CMCO,” he said, adding that border control in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur will be difficult.

Earlier today, Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob had said that Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, as well as the entire state of Sabah, will be placed under CMCO after a spike in Covid-19 cases.

The CMCO in Klang Valley will be enforced from Wednesday to October 27, while in Sabah, the order will take effect from midnight tonight to October 26.

Selangor has disagreed with Putrajaya’s decision to impose the CMCO on the state, and will submit counter-proposals to the National Security Council (NSC).

Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari had said this was because several areas in Selangor are still green or yellow zones, where Covid-19 cases are under control.

Noor Hisham said if infections were confined to one or two districts, then a targeted enhanced movement control order (TEMCO) could be implemented.

However, he said if the infection has spread to every district of a particular state and becomes impossible to control, then a CMCO is the best option to curb the spread.

The number of Covid-19 infections in Malaysia breached the 16,000 mark with another 563 cases reported in the past 24 hours.

Two deaths were also reported, bringing the death toll to 159. – October 12, 2020.