KUALA LUMPUR, May 19 — The Selangor state government said today it is not in favour of implementing a full-scale movement control order (MCO), claiming that the Covid-19 situation in the state remains under control.
Its Covid-19 task force chairman Datuk Seri Dzulkefly Ahmad said the infectivity rate in Selangor is not as high as in other states — 1.14 compared to Pahang (1.62), Kedah (1.24), Perak (1.22), and Terengganu is (1.2).
“The number of persons in households in the state is 1.9 million, and Selangor has 3.59 million labour force, and 3.4 million workers here, including people from other states who live here for work.
“This enables us to determine the density of the populace in the state,” he said during a special press conference on the Covid-19 situation in the state.
As such Dzulkefly said it is inaccurate to say Selangor is the most severe when it comes to Covid-19 infections, given its high population number and relatively developed industries compared to other states.
“The reason why Selangor seems to have high numbers of Covid-19 infections is also a matter of the Health Ministry’s testing policy. For example the RTK tests conducted must also be confirmed by PCR tests.
“This results in delayed testing, as for a PCR confirmation an appointment is needed at health clinics, as well as a delay when it comes to doing contact tracing. On average, to get a PCR appointment in the event of a positive RTK test takes three to five days,” he said.
