New cases still high - Restrictions to prevent spread being dismantled by government? WHY? Is the government no longer concerned about public health? Do they want Covid to spread to unaffected mukims/districts and States? The Government must explain...It may be reasonable if the number of new cases had dropped to 100 or less - but this new move demands explanation..
Ismail Sabri said Malaysians no longer need to ask for the police’s permission to travel to different districts within a state, or even from state to state from December 7 onwards.
COVID-19 - Quarantine and travel restriction between districts/mukims/states that have Covid infections and those with none and/or lesser resulted in spreading the infections all over Malaysia - for a long time, Pahang, for example had zero Covid cases. Then someone from an infected area traveled and brought Covid to uninfected areas..
This restriction of travel to and from infected areas is GOOD as it prevents the spread to uninfected areas... Remember, the person infected may show no symptoms, and the DG of Health and even TV tells us that proof of infection surfaces on the 11th day..
During the earlier MCO, the Malaysian government did well to battle the pandemic and curb the spread. When a person is detected positive for Covid, immediately the workplace/office is closed and all staff are asked to self-quarantine for 14 days before returning to work. Of course, a Minister defied this by turning up in Parliament less than 14 days after he returned from Turkey.. And, it seems that the requirement of closure of workplace followed by 14 days self-quarantine has been laxed.
NOW, the travel restrictions from infected areas to other areas are also lifted - Is the Covid-19 situation improved? No, it has not, we are still getting over 1,000 new cases every day...
BERA(Ismail Sabri's constituency) and Temerloh District have had ZERO new cases - BUT after people start freely traveling from the States/Districts of high numbers of NEW infections freely...this will change, and the spread/infection may increase.
One wonders, whether the current PN government wants to keep Covid-19 in Malaysia for a long time? Is it a means to delay challenges to the government - delay elections - or even declare an Emergency ...after all, PM Muhyiddin tried to get the King to proclaim an emergency in the near past?
HEALTH of the Rakyat must be the priority, especially when it concerns a disease that can cause death...Business/Economy must take a back seat at this time..
Ismail Sabri: No more police roadblocks from Dec 7, interstate, inter-district travel ok without police permit; no more passenger limit
.jpg "Police and Armed Forces personnel man a roadblock amid the enhanced movement control order in Kulim, Kedah November 27, 2020. ― Picture by Sayuti Zainudin")
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 5 — The police will no longer carry out roadblocks in Malaysia from Monday onwards (December 7) as part of Covid-19 prevention measures, senior minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced today.
Ismail Sabri said Malaysians no longer need to ask for the police’s permission to travel to different districts within a state, or even from state to state from December 7 onwards.
“As I mentioned, the need for balance between economic needs and health, as we know the recovery movement control order (RMCO) will end December 31 — don’t know if it will be extended or not — but life must go on, so a few relaxations have been agreed to at the special National Security Council meeting and already discussed with all including the Health Ministry.
“Among those agreed is for inter-state and inter-district movement to be allowed in the whole country except in EMCO (enhanced movement control order) areas, the rest we allow inter-district movement without police permission beginning December 7. There will be no more police roadblocks.
“But the orders to the police is that although no roadblocks, but to focus on compliance with standard operating procedures (SOPs), so the police will focus on SOP compliance rather than roadblocks,” he said, adding that compliance with SOPs by the public is a way to reduce the spread of Covid-19.
Based on subsequent clarifications made to the media, it is understood that this would mean that even those in areas under conditional movement control order (CMCO) such as Selangor and Kuala Lumpur would be free to travel to other states from December 7 onwards.
It is understood that the only travel restriction remaining within Malaysia will be in and out of EMCO areas.
“So I say we slowly give relaxation (on the rules). What is important is our own responsibility. We are the ones that take care of ourselves, we have to take care of our families. I think the best vaccine for Covid-19 is we ourselves — how we take care of our own health and SOP compliance that we practise.
“Even if we are allowed to go on holiday, we have to take care of the health of ourselves and our families. If we say we want to travel (“melancong”) to Langkawi from Kuala Lumpur, if we feel we need to do swab tests, then we do swab tests to know our status so that we don’t infect others.
“That is our responsibility, it’s not orders from the government. We don’t say that to fly to Langkawi, there must be swab tests. No, but as I said just now, to take care of ourselves and we as citizens are responsible to protect those around us, so we do what we think is best for us and others, so that not only we ourselves are safe, but others are also safe.
“That’s why self-control is important, not only to control ourselves but those around us. Therefore, obey each SOP that is imposed to ensure we and society are safe,” he said.
No more passenger limits
Ismail Sabri also said that vehicles would be allowed to carry the normal capacity of passengers.
“Secondly, for vehicles, we no longer limit the number in vehicles. The total is based on the seating capacity. If the usual car’s seating capacity is four, then it is four. If MPV (multi-purpose vehicle has seating capacity for seven, then it is seven, based on vehicle capacity,” he said.
Previously, the government’s CMCO rules only allowed two persons from the same household in private vehicles and three persons in taxi or e-hailing services, including the driver. This rule was later revised on November 13 to allow three persons (including driver) from the same household in private vehicles as well, following a backlash from the public.
Under the recovery movement control order (RMCO), the government did not impose any limit on the number of persons or passengers in vehicles.
Ismail Sabri’s announcement on the lifting of interstate travel restrictions and the lifting of the passenger limit in vehicles comes after his announcement the same day on the lifting tomorrow of the CMCO in most states in the country.
Today, he said the CMCO will be extended to December 20 for Kuala Lumpur, all of Selangor (except the districts of Sabak Bernam, Hulu Selangor and Kuala Selangor), Sabah, the Kulim district in Kedah, while four districts in Johor (Kota Tinggi, Johor Baru, Batu Pahat, Kulai) will also have CMCO from December 7 to December 20.
The CMCO will end tomorrow in Putrajaya, Labuan, Penang (except certain areas), Perak (except certain areas), Kelantan (except four districts) and Negri Sembilan (except the Seremban and Port Dickson districts).
The full list can be viewed here.
States and locations where the CMCO will be lifted tomorrow will return to being under the RMCO.
Johor (except for the four districts), Terengganu, Pahang, Kedah, Perlis, Melaka and Sarawak will remain under RMCO until December 31.
It is unknown for now if the RMCO will be extended past December 31. - Malay Mail, 5/12/2020
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