This is evident after some countries such as New Zealand have successfully eradicated the outbreak in their country, says health DG

by S BIRRUNTHA/ pic by MUHD AMIN NAHARUL

THE Ministry of Health (MoH) said the Covid-19 infection can be controlled even without the vaccine, if people remain compliant with the standard operating procedure (SOP) and social distancing measures.

Health DG Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said this is evident after some countries such as New Zealand have successfully eradicated the Covid-19 outbreak in their country.

He added that viruses such as SARS and MERS-CoV were controlled in the past without the use of vaccines.

“If we can control the number of cases to single digit within the period of the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO), we will be able to break the Covid-19 chain.

“We are confident of doing so (to remain a one-digit case) if the people continue to comply with the government’s SOP,” he told in his daily Covid-19 press briefing yesterday.

Dr Noor Hisham also said if the country manages to retain single-digit cases, more economic and social sectors would be allowed to operate again.

“If we can continue to have single-digit cases, then that shows that we are ready to loosen, or even to ease the restriction of border control.

“The virus will continue to be in our community, but if each and every one of us adhere to the SOP, we can bring down the cases and continue flatten the curve,” he said.

As of yesterday, the country registered the highest number recoveries with 281 patients discharged, increasing the recovered cases percentage to 83.7%, which equalled to 6,975.

Seven new Covid-19 cases were recorded for the second consecutive day yesterday, pushing the total number of cases to 8,336.

Of the new cases, six were import cases and one was a local transmission involving a non-Malaysian. There were no cases of transmission among the locals in the country yesterday.

The increase in new cases pushed the current active cases to 1,244 and the country’s overall total to 8,336. Among the active cases, six were placed in the intensive care unit, while one of them required respiratory aid.

The country’s death tally remained at 117 yesterday with no new casualties reported.

Meanwhile, Dr Noor Hisham also said the high cost of accommodation at hotels has prompted the government to allow newly arrived Malaysians from abroad to have quarantine periods at home.

He added that the method was also adopted by the World Health Organisation.

The move was made after seeing a low percentage of people infected with Covid-19 after returning from a foreign country.

“With the low number of cases, we think it is best to allow them to quarantine themselves at home. With home quarantines, we can still monitor them as they are required to sign up for the MySejahtera application,” he added.