COVID-19: Public health action needs to be intensified - Health DG

PUTRAJAYA, Sept 15  -- Public health action needs to be intensified to ensure that the R-Naught (Rt) figure can be reduced to less than 1.0 thus reducing the COVID-19 transmission and infectivity rate in the community.

Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the latest figure on Sept 13 was 1.58 and the figure in Sabah on Sept 8 was very high at 3.72.

"This is higher than the Rt value for the state of Kedah on the same date which is 2.63.

"As a result of active public health action, this value has decreased slightly for both states and on Sept 13, the Rt value for Sabah was 1.70, which was almost the same as the Rt value for Kedah on the same date which was 1.58," he told a press conference on the COVID-19 situation here today.

However, he said, this value still remains above 1.0 for both states, which would affect the Rt value for the whole country.

Therefore, Dr Noor Hisham said action and commitment from all walks of life is needed by continuing to comply with the standard operating procedures (SOP) set by the government.

Meanwhile, on the latest situation in the areas under the administrative Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO) in Kedah, about 15,000 people from 10 high-risk areas involving Sungai and Telaga Clusters had been screened.

"To date, a total of 12,885 Malaysians have been screened, with 11,757 tested negative while 1,128 still awaiting results," he said.

For administrative EMCO in three zones in Amanjaya, a total of 13,591 residents had been screened so far comprising 13,526 citizens and 65 non-citizens.

He said, of the total, 16 positive cases among citizens had been detected, including 13 second screening cases in Melur Zone.

Following this, he added, the administrative EMCO in the Melur Zone has been extended until Sept 27 to curb the spread of the pandemic.

-- BERNAMA