PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has supported the move to implement the conditional movement control order (CMCO) as a means to further prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Its president Prof Datuk Dr M. Subramaniam said the CMCO was necessary as the number of cases has spiked recently.
“The dense populations in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor will make it increasingly difficult to contain the spread of infections, hence the need for movement restrictions under a CMCO,” he said.
“The daily cases of Covid-19 being reported have been consistently in triple digits and are alarmingly high.
“These increased restrictions under the CMCO are necessary to prevent a further surge that can potentially overwhelm our public healthcare,” he said.
Since most transmissions are now community-based, reducing the number of people in public places would be key to preventing the virus from spreading.
Subramaniam said companies should get as many staff as possible to work from home to reduce the number of people in public places and on public transport where crowding can increase the risk of transmission.
He added general practitioners should be engaged to assist the government in Covid-19 surveillance through screening of low risk individuals.
He said this would help identify the presence of Covid-19 in the community before it spreads further.
“People can go about their daily activities as long as physical distancing is observed and all the other standard operating procedures are strictly complied with.
“However, they should only go out to public places when it is absolutely necessary.”
Subramaniam pointed out while there are restrictions on inter-district travel, public transport is still open under the CMCO. He said this meant people could still travel freely between areas in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor by train for work or other reasons.
He urged the National Security Council to fine-tune this to prevent non-essential crossing into districts.
He said apart from encouraging work from home policies, the government should engage with stakeholders on introducing staggered shifts for certain sectors to reduce crowding on public transport and in the cities.
“In the case of sporting activities, contact sports is not allowed but people can still exercise on their own.”
He said physical activity and exercise should be encouraged as it would help to maintain and promote a strong immune system, which is necessary to protect against illnesses.
