PUTRAJAYA, 28 April 2020:
The Health Ministry (MoH) today announced the lowest number of Covid-19 positive cases recorded since the Movement Control Order (MCO) was implemented on March 18 with 31 cases reported as at noon today.
Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said so far, the number of daily cases continued to show a falling and sometimes horizontal trend. He also said the number of daily Covid-19 positive cases is expected to drop to single digits by mid-May.
COVID19PredictionTable Singapore University of Technology and Design Data-Driven Innovation Lab projects no more Covid-19 cases in Malaysia from July 8, and a week later on July 16 for Singapore.
He said the achievement was the result of the proactive and aggressive actions of the government in curbing the spread of Covid-19 before and during MCO.
“The measures ensure MoH was able to accommodate the number of Covid-19 patients including capacity of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and the availability of ventilators in hospitals.
“MCO also helps to reduce interaction between members of the community and reduce the infectivity of Covid-19,” he told the daily media conference here today.
A baby was detected to have been infected with Covid-19 after being born to a mother who was suffering from the plague. Dr Noor Hisham, when confirming this, said it had not been ascertained whether the infection had taken place before the baby was born or after.
‘’Indeed, we have a case of a mother who delivered a baby who was found to be Covid-19 positive 18 days after being born. ’We are not sure but the infection could have taken place when it was still in the womb but what’s definite was that there was no complication during the delivery.”
He also announced one more fatality, bringing Malaysia’s Covid-19 death toll to 100 – but noted there has been no reinfection detected among Covid-19 patients who recovered from the disease.
Meanwhile, the government has allowed companies under the economic sectors – which have been permitted to operate during the MCO – to resume full operations starting tomorrow.
International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali said however, the companies must adhere to the standard operating procedure (SOP) which had been set according to their respective sectors.
“Failure to comply with the SOP will result in the immediate revocation of the permission to operate and legal action will be taken,” he said in a statement today.
Mohamed Azmin said companies which have been authorised to operate earlier do not have to reapply for the ministry’s permission to operate.
“This initiative will help to boost the recovery of the supply chain for products and services to meet local and international demand, and will have a positive impact on the companies’ revenues, especially for the small and medium-sized enterprises.
“While the government has eased up on the restrictions, the people and industry owners must adapt to the ‘new normal’ by ensuring social distancing at the workplace, maintaining good personal hygiene and complying with the health control guidelines.”
– Bernama