Rise in Covid-19 cases leaves health experts divided on CMCO’s efficacy
“If it’s true that the numbers are that high then the onus is on the MOH to explain why the CMCO remains effective”
(MMO) – The persistent spike in daily Covid-19 cases in the last two months has prompted health analysts to question if the renewal of the conditional movement control order (CMCO) has been effective in reining in the pandemic.
Despite the consensus that social distancing and movement restrictions are important to control the outbreak, some medical professionals believe there are weaknesses in how the current CMCO is enforced, even as public health authorities say the curbs are saving lives.
Among them is the lack of transparency regarding data.
One expert noted that the Ministry of Health (MOH) is now less open with detailed information compared to the first few months when the country was under a full lockdown, making it difficult to evaluate the efficacy of the current restrictions.
“Since the MOH stopped publishing more details, it is hard to assess, especially from the outside. Based on its press releases, the R0 did go down slightly since the start of CMCO,” said Dr Khoo Yoong Khean, managing editor of The Malaysian Medical Gazette.
