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PETALING JAYA: The Ministry of Health recorded 3,170 Covid-19 cases from January 1 to March 21 that were caused by interstate travel, says its CEO Tan Sri Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah.
Dr Noor Hisham said that the three states showing the highest number of import cases were Kedah with 714 cases, Perak (582) and Negri Sembilan (370).
In a statement on Sunday (March 21), Dr. Noor Hisham said that clusters sparked by interstate travel have shown an increase since the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic began on September 20, 2020.
“Interstate groups are groups that involve index cases that are infected by Covid-19 from other states and subsequently trigger local infections,” he said.
Noting that since the motion control order to ban interstate travel was implemented on January 13, Dr. Noor Hisham said there have been declines in new daily cases.
“The last group reported as an interstate group was on January 30, which is the Tersat group in Terengganu.”
Meanwhile, Dr. Noor Hisham said that interstate conglomerates have not only caused Covid-19 infections in green areas, but have also put older people and children at risk.
“The Ministry of Health would like to remind the public that even though the country shows a trend of decreasing cases, the population must always comply with the SOPs at all times to ensure that our efforts are not in vain.
“This includes abiding by the prohibition on interstate travel, except in emergency matters, where you can get approval from the police,” he said.
Dr. Noor Hisham said that cross-border travel is allowed for tourists traveling between areas that are also classified as MCO recovery areas.
“This is subject to strict POE, where it must go through travel agencies dependent on the Ministry of Tourism, Art and Culture.”
Dr. Noor Hisham also advised Malaysians to treat preventive measures such as social distancing and wearing face masks as a new normal in their daily lives.
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