The Malaysian government yesterday defended its response to the Covid-19 pandemic amid criticism of poor coordination and crisis communication as the country heads into a third lockdown today.
The top officials in charge of the security and health aspects of the pandemic response held a rare joint press conference to address the criticisms.
Senior Minister for Security Ismail Sabri Yaakob insisted that the government was "serious" in tackling the pandemic, saying that confusion over changing Covid-19 protocols was exacerbated by the dynamic nature of fluctuating infections in the country.
Malaysia's third movement control order (MCO) starting today will last for nearly a month. It comes after another surge in infections and hospitalisations, just over two months after the country gradually reopened its economy following a second lockdown in January and February. The first lockdown was between March and May last year.
"Some people say we are not serious (in dealing with the crisis). The National Security Council (NSC) has been meeting three times a week now, as opposed to once a week previously," said Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri. Health Ministry director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah was also at the conference. The NSC is the decision-making body in dealing with Covid-19.
Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced the MCO on Monday, unleashing a barrage of critical comments, particularly on social media, with many questioning the effectiveness of previous lockdowns as well as the state of emergency imposed since January.
Except for a slight lull in mid-March, daily cases have continued to climb by the thousands despite measures to curb the virus.
Shortly after the Prime Minister's announcement on Monday, the hashtag #KerajaanGagal (Failed government) started trending again on Twitter.
"If it wasn't for Covid, I'd be rioting on the street," said a Twitter user with the handle Farid Farish.
Yesterday, Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham defended both the second lockdown and the state of emergency, saying that cases would have been much higher had it not been for the tougher restrictions announced in January.
He also said that the state of emergency was necessary to stop several by-elections from taking place and to curb the transmission of the coronavirus.
However, Dr Noor Hisham conceded that reopening schools and the social sector in March may have been a little too early, and that this led to a surge in infections at a time when new virus variants of concern entered the country.
He pointed out that 80 per cent of cases being recorded now were sporadic community infections involving Malaysians, and not confined to clusters. He also warned of the limited availability of intensive care unit (ICU) beds for Covid-19 patients, with over 500 of the 734 available ICU beds already filled.
"We need three to four weeks to bring down the numbers, at the same time to enable the Health Ministry to build our capacity to be prepared for any surge in the future," he said, adding that the health authorities were looking to add 1,000 more ICU beds in the coming weeks.
Epidemiologist Malina Osman told The Straits Times that she welcomed the new lockdown as the "best decision" for the country, although she felt that it could have been implemented earlier.
The latest MCO means that Malaysians will, for the second year in a row, be spending Hari Raya under tough curbs. House visits for the festival are not allowed.
While businesses can remain open, a ban on social activities and travel restrictions will keep most of their customers home. People can leave home only to buy essentials like food and medicine, while restaurants can only offer takeaway meals,
Individuals are allowed to travel only for essential work purposes, vaccination or emergencies - and there is a maximum limit of three people in a car. Inter-state as well as inter-district travel is also banned, with roadblocks set up to enforce the rules.
Malaysia yesterday reported 3,973 new Covid-19 cases and another 22 deaths. The number of total active cases is now near the 40,000 mark.
