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According to Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, six criteria need to be fulfilled before the government can decide to lift the MCO. Included are border control, movement control, the readiness of the healthcare services system and protection of high-risk groups. Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan look at the top news of the day.

On January 10th, China shared the genetic sequence of COVID-19. And since then, there has been a mad scramble to find a vaccine. How far are we from a safe, manufacturable, vaccine for COVID-19? Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to Jean-Michel Piedagnel, Director of Southeast Asia,Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi).

The government has announced that it is trying to ensure that Malaysia gets the “first-mover" advantage when COVID-19 vaccines are made available. Is Malaysia well-placed to have vaccines available and accessible to all? Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to Datuk Dr Zulkifli Ismail, Executive Committee Member of the Malaysian Paediatric Association.

Director-General of Health, a letter to him by nine-year-old Lara Khadijah McAfee from Terengganu has gone viral on social media. In the letter she thanked DG Noor Hisham for all his work, and gifted him a loom band - a woven rubber bracelet. Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan look at the some of the more interesting headlines of the day.

Earlier this week, Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah revealed that Malaysia only has 19 days’ supply left of some PPE items -- or Personal Protective Equipment used by medical front-liners. Does Malaysia then need to adopt a strategy similar to that of the US’ Defense Production Act in which the Federal government can dictate what equipment is produced and where it goes?  Melis...

As production capacity and global demand drops for many goods and services, what has the Covid-19 pandemic revealed about the international economic system?  Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to Datuk Dr Rajah Rasiah, Distinguished Professor of Economics, Asia-Europe Institute, University Malaya.

US President has been heavily criticised for halting funding for the World Health Organization. In response the Gates Foundation said it would spend an additional 150 million dollars on COVID treatment and vaccine research -- raising its total commitment to 250 million. Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan look at some international stories related to the ongoing COVID19 pandemic.

The shift to home-based learning will no doubt have longer-term consequences - especially for the most vulnerable and marginalised. How will the Ministry of Education address the issues related to access and student-teacher preparedness? Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to Dr Azwan Abd Aziz, Deputy Director (Content Development Sector) for Educational Resource and Technology Division, Ministr...

The closure of schools due to COVID-19 has affected millions students nationwide. But school closures don’t affect every child the same way. The shift to home-based learning has only served to highlight the very real digital divide - firstly for students with no devices, and secondly, those with limited internet access. Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim, Chairp...

Defense Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, today announced that 13 prisons academies nationwide will be used as detention centres for violators of the MCO to avoid over-crowding in ordinary prisons. But will this create it own problems?  Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan look at the top news of the day.

There are 20 Public Higher Education Institutions in Malaysia, and 447 privately-owned ones. Are we likely to see this number shrink - either through consolidation or closure of those without the financial wherewithal to survive the pandemic? Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to Najmie Noordin, Chief Operating Officer, Cosmopoint Sdn Bhd.

What are the conversations that are currently being had globally, about the challenges that this pandemic is posing for universities and other institutions of higher learning? Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to Thomas Barker, Associate Professor at the School of Media Languages and Cultures, University of Nottingham Malaysia.

SHAPE-SEA had organised a webinar with Forum-Asia yesterday, regarding the status of human rights in Southeast Asia during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the observations shared was that many countries in ASEAN are still treating the pandemic as a security issue.  Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to webinar organiser Joel Mark Baysa-Barredo, programme manager for SHAPE-SEA (Strengt...

Today, the 10 leaders of ASEAN countries had a video conference to discuss the bloc’s coordinated action against the COVID-19 pandemic. How will ASEAN collectively deal with this new transnational challenge? Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to HE Yuyun Wahyuningrum, Indonesia’s Representative to the ASEAN Inter-governmental Commission on Human Rights.

Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah today revealed that Malaysia only has 19 days’ supply left of some PPE items -- or Personal Protective Equipment used by medical front-liners. He provided a breakdown of when various PPE items could run out. How can this situation be address in a more systematic way? Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan look at the top stories of the day.

The government has decided against allowing barbers, beauty salons and optometrists to operate during the rest of the MCO. According to Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, the government had decided against allowing these services to operate during the MCO period after the government listened to the public, to experts, and also to the NGOs. Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan look at the news of the...

While providing mental health support may not necessarily be very high on the agenda as we continue to contain the virus -- this is still an important issue that impacts millions of people. Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to Ardy Ayadali, Publicity Director for Befrienders KL and Chan Wen Li, Assistant Professor, University of Nottingham Malaysia.

COVID-19 has resulted in new stress-triggers that may affect mental health - everything from curtailed social interactions, the loss of normalcy, fear of death, as well as economic uncertainty. How do we deal with these anxieties, as we learn to live in this new normal. Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to Vizla Kumaresan, Clinical Psychologist.

We lead with the most anticipated news today was the announcement of a two-week extension of the MCO until the 28th of April as well as a response to the demands of businesses to resume operations. Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan look at other news of the day.

Just days ago, the Academy of Medicine of Malaysia urged the government to extend the MCO to and beyond the Hari Raya season. That’s at least till June. To understand their rationale, Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to Professor Dr Rosmawati Mohamed with Academy of Medicine of Malaysia and Consultant Hepatologist from Universiti Malaya Medical Centre.

Along with the extension of the MCO to the 28th of April, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin today also announced that more economic sectors will be allowed to reopen in stages. A list was then released by MITI, of industries that will now be allowed to operate under the MCO. To get a response from the business sector, Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to Tan Sri Ter Leong Yap, President of National Cha...

“So far the data shows that we are still in a struggle. We haven’t won and we haven’t yet lost.” Policy makers and politicians will be deliberating the onerous trade-offs in an extended MCO. Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan look at the news of the day.

Yesterday 300 people were arrested for violating the MCO bringing the total arrests under the restriction orders to over seven thousand. What are the legal issues that we need to consider currently? Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to lawyer, Syahredzan Johan

The MCO poses an unforeseen constitutional dilemma for the Federal and state governments. Should state assemblies still meet, regardless of the MCO? Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to former law professor, Gurdial Singh Nijar, president of the National Human Rights Society (HAKAM).

Yesterday, a lockdown was announced on two buildings in Jalan Masjid India after 19 COVID-19 positive cases were detected in the premises. This enhanced MCO affects approximately 6,000 people -- 97% of which are migrants. Whose responsibility are migrants under the MCO? Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan look at the news of the day.