KUALA LUMPUR, May 19 — Malaysia is on track to achieving single-digit new Covid-19 cases daily, Health director-general Datuk Noor Hisham Abdullah proposed today.

He said although cases are not decreasing as fast as his ministry had expected, there has also been no sudden surge to three-digit cases compared to the initial weeks of the movement control order (MCO) enforced in March.

"Like today, although we are looking at double digits, it is lower double digits numbers.

"As we can see, we are still on target as two weeks from May 4 until now, cases have not increased, but not decreasing as fast as we want,” he said during the ministry’s daily briefing on Covid-19 today, referring to the start of the enforcement of conditional MCO.

Dr Noor Hisham cited another example where the Health Ministry is currently targeting two active areas — Chow Kit and Pudu localities — and are currently conducting tests on migrant workers.

"There may be 22 local transmissions today, but these are non-Malaysians. 

"If we are talking about Malaysians, there is about 10 to 12 positive cases only,” he added.

He also expressed hope that the country can maintain the same double digit numbers as observed through phases three to five.

"As long as we are below 50 new positive cases I am happy. But of course the target is to aim lower than this,” he said, referring to the number.

"We can achieve this with the public coming together to adhere to our SOPs (standard operating procedures),” he said.

The country today recorded 37 new cases, out of which 35 are local transmissions with 22 non-Malaysians.

On March 12, only 16 new cases were recorded, the lowest in two months since the MCO was enforced and three days ago, only 17 new cases were reported.