Dr Bahari Che Awang Ngah said the ngeteh (hanging out at coffee shops) activity had also contributed to the spread of Covid-19 as those involved would engage in close conversation without face masks.

He said some people even held wedding receptions, tahlil prayers or birthday celebrations during the March school holidays while the state was under the recovery movement control order (RMCO).

“Some gathered before and after prayers or religious activities which eventually caused the spread of the disease. They did it despite being aware of the SOPs for all those activities,” he told Bernama here today.

“The same goes for interstate travel. Some travelled to other states and brought the virus home. If it was for work purposes, it shouldn’t be a problem, but there were many still shaking hands with people coming from red zones,” he said.

Meanwhile, he said the cumulative cases in Pahang stood at 8,649, with 6,930 recoveries and 52 deaths.

He said it was hoped that the daily tally would drop over the next two weeks following the enhanced movement control order (EMCO) currently in force in most areas in Kuantan, Bera, Temerloh, Jerantut and Raub.

In a statement, he said the positive cases in Kuantan had increased to an average of 80 to 100 cases per day since the second day of Hari Raya on May 14 from less than 10 cases in early March.

He said most of the cases involved the existing active clusters and asymptomatic close contacts.

“Asymptomatic cases have potential to infect more people due to high infectivity rate, especially in cases of late detection and quarantine.

“Almost all localities in Kuantan have reported active cases now, which prompted the EMCO to be enforced there,” he said.

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