16 new COVID-19 cases in Malaysia
Image adapted from: Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia
The COVID-19 outbreak has thrown our country into a long and exhausting battle. While we’re still not in the clear, things are certainly looking up with the loosened restrictions in the newly introduced Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) and lower numbers of new COVID-19 cases recorded.
Yesterday, 12th March 2020, marked another big day for the nation as we recorded 16 new COVID-19 cases. This is the lowest figure we’ve seen since the exponential growth of cases we had back in mid-March that led to the initial implementation of the MCO. While the low numbers call for a celebration, the local government is still reminding Malaysians to continue observing the CMCO rules or they may just tighten the restrictions and rules once more.
Lowest number of new COVID-19 cases; recovered cases continue to soar
In yesterday’s update, the Ministry of Health announced that out of the 16 new COVID-19 cases recorded, 9 are non-Malaysians. Out of the 9 non-Malaysians who tested positive, 3 are imported cases. This means that the remaining 13 patients were infected whilst in the country.
Image credit: @KKMPutrajaya
The 16 new cases bring up the total number of active COVID-19 cases in the country to 1,410 with 3 patients currently in the ICU. Overall, the total number of confirmed cases in Malaysia is 6,742 as of yesterday, 12PM.
Recoveries are on the rise, with the successful treatment of 110 patients. The total number of recovered COVID-19 cases stands at 5,223.
MCO may be reinforced if non-compliant cases increase during CMCO
While it appears that we are gaining control of the pandemic here, Malaysians should not take this as a reason for leniency during the CMCO period. According to The Star, the government is reminding Malaysians to continue observing the CMCO rules as the government can always retract its decision to loosen the restrictions. If there is a high number of non-compliant cases reported, the government will consider reinforcing MCO once more to regain control of the situation.
Image adapted from: Bernama
This only means that we should not be taking the CMCO for granted as there is still work to be done regarding the containment of the COVID-19 pandemic. When we head out, we should always practice social distancing and maintain good hygiene.
Malaysia records lowest new COVID-19 cases since MCO
While we can celebrate the downward trend of new COVID-19 cases and the CMCO, which gives us more freedom to roam about, Malaysians still need to be vigilant as our battle with COVID-19 is not over just yet. There is always the risk of a new wave of cases if we get complacent, so we are still advised to stay home as much as we can.
However, we should still applaud our local authorities and frontliners for their hard work and effort as the remarkable progress we’re seeing today are all fruits of their labour.
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