16 SPECIAL ISSUE COVID-19 JUMMEC 2020:1 ANALYSES OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MOVEMENT CONTROL ORDER (MCO) IN REDUCING THE COVID-19 CONFIRMED CASES IN MALAYSIA Pang NTP 1 , Assis K 2 , Mohd Kassim MA 1 , and Ho CM 2 . 1 Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universi Malaysia Sabah, Jalan UMS, 88400 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah 2 Mathemacs with Economics Programme, Faculty of Science and Natural Resources, Universi Malaysia Sabah, Jalan UMS, 88400 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah Correspondence: Assis Kamu, Faculty of Science & Natural Resources, Universi Malaysia Sabah, Jalan UMS, 88400 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia Email: assis@ums.edu.my Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in 5 consecuve Movement Control Orders (MCOs) in Malaysia in an aempt to flaen the epidemiological curve, with a reducon of cases. This study aims to use stascal analysis to assess whether the decisive public health intervenons in the MCO were efficacious. Three stascal tests were employed: Mann-Kendall trend analysis; one way between groups ANOVA; and Pearson correlaon test. Results demonstrated significant differences between the second block, MCO 3-5, compared to MCO 1-2. Johor and Selangor states experienced significant increase in early MCO, whereas Sarawak and Selangor states experienced significant decrease by MCO 3-5. The northern border states of Kedah, Perlis and Kelantan, had caseloads stabilised to zero by MCO 4/MCO 5. This study demonstrates that the MCO was effecve within the target of twice the two-week incubaon period of COVID-19, with cases from community transmission and importaon through the air and southern land borders. Selangor and Sarawak had higher cases in early MCO due to situaonal factors. In conclusion, MCO has been efficacious, with different states aaining different levels of case reducon due to individualised reasons. Keywords: COVID-19, Movement Control Orders, Malaysia Introducon The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic was first detected in China in late 2019, causing respiratory and systemic symptoms including fever, cough, pneumonia, and diarrhoea in paents (1). The World Health Organizaon (WHO) was nofied on 31 December 2019 regarding this illness by the report of a cluster of cases of pneumonia in Wuhan, in the Hubei Province of China, and a week later China confirmed that a novel coronavirus had been identified (2). More new cases were noted in other countries as international travel and trade were still operang as usual. On 30 January 2020, WHO declared COVID-19 as a “Public Health Emergency of Internaonal Concern” and as a pandemic on 11 March 2020 as new cases were surging all over the world (2). As of date, WHO had reported over 23 million cases globally, affecng more than 180 countries, with 800,000 COVID-19 fatalies with a reported overall fatality rate of 3.48% (3). On 25 January 2020, Malaysia reported its first three confirmed COVID-19 cases, which were importaons from a Singapore cluster (4), hence entering the alert phase of the pandemic. A lockdown was not instuted in the early stages as cases in Malaysia were increasing slowly, largely owing to external importation. However, on 9 March 2020, Malaysia was surprised by the informaon from a neighbouring country that there had been posive cases linked to a hitherto unknown mass gathering in Malaysia from 1-3 March. Due to the one-week delay in contact tracing and case finding, there was a second wave of infecon with more than 1000 cases including two deaths by early March, thus entering the containment phase in Malaysia. Under the naonal Prevenon and Control of Infecous Disease Act 1988 and Police Act 1967, a naonwide movement control order (MCO) beginning 18 March 2020 was introduced to flaen the epidemiological curve (5). Mulple mulsectorial efforts at different levels in different independent organisaons were organised upon entering the containment phase, including social