After considering the interests of the people, the government decided against total lockdown.

By: Aiman Safwan Zin

SERI KEMBANGAN: According to Senior Minister (Security) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, the nationwide total lockdown under the Movement Control Order (MCO) was not implemented after taking into account the interests of the people, particularly the poor and B40 groups.

He claimed that the country had lost RM2.4 billion per day during the MCO 1.0 on March 18, last year, and that it also impacted small business who rely on daily income.

"They will have no daily income if we close again. During MCO 1.0, we heard about families who had to eat rice with only salt water to survive. This was true among the poor and the B40 groups "Today, he held a joint press conference with Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

He stated that, while a full MCO was not implemented, the Enhanced MCO (EMCO) approach was still carried out on a targeted basis at identified localities, with all business activities except those involving daily necessities being prohibited.