KUALA LUMPUR (May 17): The Ministry of Health has expressed concern over the growing number of people trying to travel between states ahead of Aidilfitri, despite government restriction to stop another wave of Covid-19 outbreak.
Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah noted that police reported 508 cases of vehicles attempting to travel between states to “balik kampung” on Friday alone.
“On May 16 (yesterday), the number more than doubled to 1,248 vehicles. And the police have instructed them to turn back,” he said at his daily Covid-19 press conference.
Dr Noor Hisham emphasised the risks of Covid-19 spreading due to inter-state travel.
“Of the (6,894) total infections (in Malaysia), 971 patients or 14.1% have a history of inter-state travel.
“Malaysia has 49 clusters in total, of which 18 clusters [originated from] inter-state travel. Ten of those [inter-state] clusters are still active,” he said.
“The Ministry of Health is concerned and worried about the increase in [public] movements and inter-state travel among individuals, particularly ahead of the festive period.
“The ministry pleads for everyone to adhere to the SOP (standard operating procedure), which is to protect us from getting infected [by the virus],” he added.
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