PUTRAJAYA, Oct 2: Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said his tweet earlier yesterday morning only served as a reminder to Malaysians to remain home whenever possible, and was not a hint that the movement control order (MCO) may be implemented again.
Through his official Twitter account, @DGHisham, he had earlier responded to fellow user @zalifahms, who suggested banning cross-state movements for a while, with: “How about all stay at home for a while again?”
The reply sparked an intense debate among Malaysians and caused concern that the government could reintroduce the MCO.
“That (tweet) is not a new thing. I was once again reminding Malaysians who do not have important business outside to remain home. If you do need to go out for an important matter, abide by the SOPs.
“That was the main purpose of my tweet,” he said.
Noor Hisham said the health ministry (MoH) was aware that some health workers and Malaysians were tired of complying with the SOPs set by the government.
“But we should remember that the Covid-19 virus has never lost its strength. If we let our guard down or take it easy, infections will occur because the virus already exists in the community,” he said.
He said the ministry expected a new wave of Covid-19 infections if the number of positive cases continued to increase.
“However, the onus is on us whether we can flatten the curve again. We have done it before, and we can do it again but we need collaboration from every one of you to comply with SOPs.
“If we come together, we can make the impossible possible,” he said.
Noor Hisham said all parties, including school administrations, should manage the risk of infections in their respective premises.
Asked about the concerns of parents in Selangor on their children attending school amid the high rate of infection at the moment, he said the matter was discussed between MoH and the education ministry.
“Indeed, the risk remains. If we do not want to take any risk, we can all sit at home. But if we leave the house, we have to manage that risk.
“So as of now, in schools, if there are no infections, we will leave them to operate,” he said, adding that so far there were no reports of clusters in schools.
