With the fasting month set to begin on Tuesday (13 April) and the Hari Raya celebrations set to follow a month later, Malaysians are waiting with bated breath to find out whether the government will be allowing interstate travels during the festive period.

Although Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said that the government is reportedly considering allowing interstate travel for Aidilfitri celebrations, a recnt tweet by our Health Director General says otherwise.

Yes or no?

On Saturday (10 April), Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob told Bernama that the government will ask the Ministry of Health (MoH) to make an early announcement on the matter.

That would allow Malaysians to make preparations for interstate travel, Ismail Sabri said.

“This matter is under the purview of MOH and they will conduct a risk assessment (on the matter),” he was quoted as saying.

While it may sound like a foregone conclusion that the state borders will be opened for the Aidilfitri celebrations, Health DG Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah has reminded every one about the current COVID-19 situation in the country with a tweet.

In a posting tweeted on Saturday night, Dr Noor Hisham shared two graphs: a forecast of the weekly active cases and Rt infectivity rate.

"The basic data and facts speak for themselves," Dr Noor Hisham wrote.

The basic data and facts speak for themselves. pic.twitter.com/qhtBovdubB
— Noor Hisham Abdullah (@DGHisham) April 10, 2021

Based on the charts, the number of weekly cases has jumped from 8.968 in Week 13 to 9,507 in Week 14. The number of weekly cases have seen a slight increase since Week 12 (8,929).

Meanwhile, the Rt infectivity rate chart shows that the country is still struggling to bring the infectivity rate down.

The current infectivity rate as of 11 April stands at 1.06, which is far off the 0.8 target and is hitting slightly above the forecasted trajectory for non-compliance to SOP.

Kadar kebolehjangkitan Covid-19 atau Ro/Rt pada jangkaan mengikut kes seharian pada 11 HB April 2021 untuk seluruh negara adalah 1.06. Manakala pecahan mengikut negeri adalah seperti di lampiran. pic.twitter.com/zOZTizwj9U
— Noor Hisham Abdullah (@DGHisham) April 12, 2021

Malaysia is still recording more than 1,000 COVID-19 cases on a daily basis, with a total of 15,059 active cases as of 10 April.

The government allowing interstate travel and Ramadan bazaars to open at this point in time could spell disaster.

Will The Govt Allow Interstate Travels During Hari Raya? Health DG Gives Major Hint With A Tweet

Yes or no?