KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 7 — The National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) advised the people against throwing caution to the wind with regard to Covid-19 following the lifting of the restriction on inter-district and inter-state travel.
Its director-general, Datuk Dr Aminuddin Hassim, said today the people should not assume that the relaxation of the rules is the greenlight to return to their hometowns and villages, especially in flood-prone areas, without being vigilant against the pandemic.
Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaacob announced on Saturday the ending of the conditional movement control order (CMCO) and lifting of the travel restriction today in many areas except in enhanced movement control order (EMCO) zones. He also said that the two-person limit per car is no more and that the passenger limit is based on vehicle capacity.
"With the relaxation, there may be a relatively high movement (of people) this weekend. So, we will work together on the monitoring and ensure that the people observe the existing SOPs.
“There may be a movement of people to the villages to see how their families are faring in the flood-hit areas. We hope this movement will not result in the people unwittingly spreading Covid-19,” Aminuddin told reporters after attending a briefing on flood management at the Terengganu Disaster Operations Room, here.
The Kelantan government is also worried that new Covid-19 clusters will emerge with the anticipated high number of people expected to return to the state.
State Local Government, Housing and Health Committee chairman Dr Izani Husin said today the anxiety was born out of the fact that the number of Covid-19 cases is still high in some states.
“In Kelantan itself, we have the Huma Cluster in Pasir Puteh. There are many clusters in the rest of the country. We fear the unrestricted inter-state travel may trigger infection,” he told reporters after handing over the keys to affordable homes to 14 owners in Taman Wadi Iman, Pasir Genda, here. — Bernama