PETALING JAYA (May 14): A group of medical specialists, the Academy of Medicine of Malaysia (AMM), have called on the government to review the relaxation on its policy for small gatherings under the conditional movement control order (CMCO) over the Hari Raya Aidilfitri season, The Star reported today.

The group said in a statement that it welcomed “the extension of the CMCO until June 9 to curb the spread of Covid-19”, but it was also “deeply disappointed” that small Hari Raya parties were allowed.

“This could undo all the good work to control the Covid-19 pandemic thus far in our country.

“It has been proven that it only takes one infected person – especially asymptomatic or false-negative ones from the Covid-19 testing currently used – to spread the disease,” the daily reported AMM saying.

“We must remember the immense difficulties and massive resources needed to do contact tracing. An excessive relaxation of conditional MCO restrictions will potentially reverse hard-won victories achieved through the sacrifices of the rakyat and frontliners alike.

“Covid-19 remains an active threat and Malaysians need to work together to prevent its spread.

“We note that new clusters are still appearing and non-adherence to precautions will escalate this.

“We need to stay vigilant and not let our guard down,” it added.

AMM, instead, suggested that “face-to-face Hari Raya celebrations” should only be allowed among family members residing in the same home.

AMM is a registered body representing medical specialists in the country from 11 colleges and 15 chapters.

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