No plans for nationwide MCO, says Ismail Sabri

The government currently has no plans to implement a nationwide movement control order (MCO) but will proceed with targeted movement restrictions, Senior Minister for Security Ismail Sabri Yaakob said today.

Ismail said the targeted MCO could also be enforced following the Hotspots Identification for Dynamic Engagement (HIDE) system which would indicate specific areas with large cases of Covid-19 outbreak (hotspots).

“If there is a hotspot area, we will enforce an MCO according to the village, subdistrict or district that has a large number of outbreak cases. The smallest scale (of the MCO) that will be implemented is the enhanced MCO, but it will still be done in a targeted manner.

“However, various possibilities can occur because according to data from the health ministry, if there is no intervention from the government, cases can reach up to more than 5,000 after the (Aidilfitri) celebration and can rise to 10,000 cases in July and August,” he said at a press conference in Jerantut.

He was asked to comment on the enforcement of a nationwide MCO following the surge in number of new cases with 4,498 logged yesterday, apart from the concern of the people that a nationwide MCO would be imposed at the last minute before the Aidilfitri celebration.

Ismail said a meeting held by the technical committee of the National Security Council (NSC) this morning had discussed the possibility of an MCO during the Aidilfitri celebration, adding that a decision on the matter would be announced this evening or latest by tomorrow to allow the people time to prepare.