KUALA LUMPUR (April 23): Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah has confirmed that he had a meeting with Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin today to brief him on the criteria that must be met before deciding to lift the Movement Control Order (MCO).

However, Noor Hisham clarified that the Health Ministry has yet to obtain sufficient data and facts to advise the Prime Minister on whether or not to lift the MCO.

"Yes, we did have a meeting with the PM this morning,” he said at his daily COVID-19 media briefing.

“We discussed in principle the six criteria we have.

"We only discussed the principles [of lifting the MCO], but now we need the facts and science before we can table concrete evidence to show whether we need to extend [the MCO]," he added.

Noor Hisham had previously outlined the six criteria for the authorities to consider before deciding to lift the MCO, namely effective border control, population movement control, the healthcare system’s capacity, protecting high-risk groups, adherence to new norms, and inter-agency cooperation to implement preventive measures.

The director-general reiterated that it is important for the country to continue strengthening its border control, noting that over 180 countries have been infected with COVID-19.

"Lifting the MCO doesn't mean that we’re going to lift the border control. In fact we need to strengthen the border control," he stressed.