According to the former prime minister, the infectivity rate, or R0 (pronounced “R-naught”), continues to climb and is currently at its highest since June 6, when it was 0.99.

According to health ministry data, the R0 value yesterday was also 0.99. From June 7 to June 27, the R0 value hovered between 0.90 and 0.98.

Najib added that the positivity rate yesterday was also at its highest this month.

The positivity rate, which is derived from the number of positive cases against the number of people tested, stood at 8.34% yesterday. The previous high was 8.28% on June 5.

“The lockdown should not be prolonged as the people are already struggling. So, do not ‘kill’ the rakyat with the same strategy.

“If the current approach is ineffective, it needs to be adjusted and improved upon,” Najib said in a Facebook post, adding that the past two movement control orders – MCO2.0 and MC03.0 – have failed.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said the current phase of the nationwide lockdown will not end today as originally scheduled, but will continue indefinitely until daily Covid-19 cases drop to below 4,000.