KUALA LUMPUR, April 29 – Most sub-districts in Penang and Selangor have detected no new Covid-19 cases in over 14 days, while most Perak sub-districts reported zero new infections for more than 28 days.
According to Ministry of Health (MOH) data at the state level, Perak recorded 59 “white” sub-districts (mukim) that did not record any new Covid-19 cases for over 28 days, up to noon on April 28.
In that period, 15 “green” sub-districts in Perak recorded zero new Covid-19 cases for over 14 days; while four remaining sub-districts were “orange”, or have reported new infections within the past fortnight — Taiping, Ipoh, Pengkalan Baharu, and Batang Padang.
The incubation period for Covid-19, which means the time between catching the virus and showing symptoms of the disease, is estimated at 14 days; people can still transmit Covid-19 even before they display symptoms.
As for Penang, all sub-districts in the northern state were “green”, except for Mukim 16 in Seberang Perai Utara with two new cases, as they detected zero new Covid-19 cases for over a fortnight from April 15 to April 28.
In Selangor, during the same period, 37 sub-districts were “green”, having detected no new Covid-19 cases for over 14 days, whereas 19 sub-districts have reported new cases from April 15 to 28.
All but one sub-district each in Sabak Bernam, Kuala Selangor, Sepang, and Hulu Selangor did not find any new Covid-19 cases for over the past fortnight. The 19 sub-districts that detected new Covid-19 infections within the last 14 days were Pasir Panjang (one case), Tg Karang (one), Kapar (one), Klang (seven), Tanjung 12(2) (four), Tlk Pg Garang (one), Bukit Raja (four), Damansara (four), Petaling (10), Sungai Buloh (three), Dengkil (three), Serendah (one), Batu (nine), Rawang (one), Setapak (one), Ampang (seven), Beranang (two), Hulu Langat (29), and Semenyih (three).
Former Health deputy director-general (public health) Dr Lokman Hakim Sulaiman said to CodeBlue last week that geographical operational areas should be defined when it comes to movement control, which could be a “mukim” in rural areas, and smaller zones or sections in the denser urban areas.
These areas can be colour-coded into red (new cases detected within the last seven days); yellow (no new cases detected for more than a week, but detected in the last 14 days); green (no new cases detected for more than a fortnight, but detected in the last 28 days); and white (no new cases detected for more than 28 days, the length of two incubation periods for the coronavirus).
He said the Movement Control Order (MCO) could be lifted without testing in “white” areas that do not report any new Covid-19 cases for over 28 days, while maintaining strict border control.
As for “green” areas that are free of new Covid-19 infections for over 14 days, Dr Lokman suggested lifting a lockdown only if the Ministry of Health (MOH) does population testing, instead of its current strategy of targeted testing by screening only high-risk groups and locations.
None of the other states or federal territories provided 14-day moving charts to illustrate new Covid-19 cases reported in that period.
