SOP compliance among Malaysians declines

KUALA LUMPUR: The level of compliance with standard operating procedures (SOP) during the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) has been seen to be slightly lower than the first wave of COVID-19.

Medical and Public Health Specialist, Dr Khor Swee Kheng said some Malaysians were probably tired of practising new norms that have never been a part of daily life before.

However, he said, if compared to other countries, especially Europe, the compliance rate of Malaysians was still at a high level.

"Compared to the first phase of the Movement Control Order (MCO), we may forget or be tired of adopting new norms that have never been in life," he said when interviewed by Astro AWANI via Skype here, on Monday.

When asked whether the government should call everyone who returned from Sabah to undergo schwab test, Swee Kheng said it was difficult and may not yield results that commensurate with the efforts put in place.

As a result, he advised the government to find a more accurate method of targeting.

At the same time, he reminded the public about the importance of SOP compliance as Malaysia was now on the verge of a new wave, especially after the Sabah State Election (PRN) when cases soared over the past few days.

A total of 317 new cases of COVID-19 were recorded on Sunday, all of which were domestic transmission.

This was the second consecutive day the country has recorded the highest daily infection since the outbreak hit the country.

Of the total number of new cases, 37 cases had a history of travel to Sabah.