THERE is little indication that the government has learnt from its past experience of handling the Covid-19 pandemic in the last nine months, said Ong Kian Ming.

“With nine months of experience in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, what lessons have we learned and what are we doing differently in MCO 2.0 compared to the first MCO?” the former deputy international trade and industry minister said in a statement today.

The Bangi MP also raised 10 questions to director-general of health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, asking if the public should place any confidence in the plans to fight Covid-19.

Ong highlighted the standard operating procedure issued at the last minute after the second movement-control order started last Wednesday, the U-turns over sectors allowed to operate, such as automotive manufacturing and optometrists, as well as the uncertainty over school reopening as the government’s failure to prepare for MCO 2.0.

Malaysia reached a new high of 4,029 Covid-19 cases on Saturday in the first week of the start of MCO 2.0.

“By contrast, we reached a high of 235 Covid-19 cases on March 26, 2020 during the first MCO,” Ong said.

While credit should be given to Noor Hisham’s leadership and the public health front-liners for their tireless efforts to combating the pandemic, many questions still need answers, he said.

The 10 questions relate to the total number of daily Covid-19 tests done by the Health Ministry and the daily percentage of positive cases; number of contact tracers used; transmission trends based on MySejahtera data; and breakdown of the bed capacity of intensive care units by state, among others.

He also asked for more accurate location information about Covid-19 cases to be disclosed publicly.

Ong also questioned the transmission rates in schools when there were physical classes in 2020; housing situation for foreign workers in the security, manufacturing and construction industries; the Rt value (the effective reproduction number) by state and how Putrajaya is working with the state governments to fight Covid-19.

Malaysia imposed its first MCO on March 18, 2020 to limit the outbreak after the cumulative total of cases breached the 500 mark. The MCO was eased on June 9, where the conditional MCO began.

However, various levels of MCO were imposed last week after health resources reached a breaking point and the country continued to report daily cases in the four digits.

The MCO is now in place in Penang, Selangor, Federal Territories (Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan), Malacca, Johor, Sabah and Kelantan while the conditional MCO is in place in Pahang, Perak, Negri Sembilan, Kedah and Terengganu.

Perlis and Sarawak, which have the fewest active Covid-19 cases currently, will remain in the recovery MCO phase. – January 18, 2021.