The six are border control; movement control; the healthcare system, including a sufficient number of wards and labs; action to protect the high-risk groups; putting the “new normal” into practice; and implementing preventive measures in a community.

Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said this framework must be practised by every ministry and department to ensure a “soft landing” for any exit strategy.

He said this when asked if the MCO would be lifted. In his answer, he said he was unsure.

“But we should avoid mass gatherings. We need to ensure there are no large crowds and everyone practises social distancing.

“We need to also frequently wash our hands,” he told reporters during his daily briefing.

However, Noor Hisham said of the six, the two most important ones were, border control and movement control.

By strengthening Malaysia’s borders, he said the number of “import cases” could be reduced, while movement control would be able to reduce the number of active cases, which currently stood at 2,041.

“Before we consider lifting the MCO, we need to look at the number of active cases. We hope we can reduce this.

“If we can contain this, it will be a factor in our decision.”

Yesterday, Noor Hisham said Putrajaya may introduce a “soft landing” approach in lifting the MCO.

This, he explained, could see mass gatherings continuing to be banned and social distancing rules enforced.

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