KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 2 — The government sees no necessity to mass test everyone in Malaysia for Covid-19 when there is yet to be a vaccine available, Datuk Seri Mohd Redzuan Yusof said in Parliament today.
The special functions minister in the Prime Minister’s Department added that the current national crisis management mechanism to curb the spread of the coronavirus is sufficient and prevents public health facilities from being congested due to the high rate of infections.
“Covid-19 screening is only done on those with symptoms and not on all residents in Malaysia, because as long as there is no vaccine, anyone can be infected with this virus at any time.
“The best preventive measure is to cultivate and practise the new norms of life, such as social distancing and adhering to hygiene controls such as frequent hand washing with soap or hand sanitiser,” he said in a written reply.
Redzuan was replying Fong Kui Lun (DAP-Bukit Bintang), who asked Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to state the government’s preparedness to curb the spread of the Covid-19 outbreak which has swept across the country, and the probability of it continuing well into coming years, as well as the measures to overcome the adverse effects on the country and the lives of the people.
He said the current mechanism employed to curb the spread of Covid-19 is the recovery movement control order (RMCO), where all sectors and activities are allowed to operate in compliance with the Standard Operation Procedures (SOPs) that emphasise health protocols and new norms.
“In the event of an increase in Covid-19 cases in any area, the government will tighten controls in the area or locality by implementing a conditional movement control order (CMCO) or an enhanced movement control order (EMCO), to enable the Ministry of Health to take action prevention, rehabilitation or mitigation within the area,” Redzuan said.
