Knowledge, Perception and Practice of Malaysian Residents on Covid-19 during the Period of the Conditional Movement Control Order

Introduction: Since Malaysia’s first case of Covid-19 was detected early February 2020, cases slowly increased. A Movement Control Order (MCO) was imposed on 18th March 2020 to control spread of the disease. Information on the MCO, the required social behaviour was disseminated through the media. From 4th May 2020 the MCO restrictions were relaxed - thence referred to as the Conditional Movement Order (CMCO). This lasted till 9th June. This study was to determine knowledge, perception, and practice of residents during the CMCO to see if they adhered to the new norms.  Methods: This was an analytical cross-sectional study. Inclusion criteria was residents of Malaysia aged 20 to 70 years. A pretested questionnaire with internal validity of 0.751 was used via Google forms. Data converted into categorical variables and analysed using SPSSv23. Statistically significant was p<0.05. Spearman’s co-relation used to determine linear relationship between knowledge and practice and between perception and practice. Results:  We had a total of 420 respondents. Significant association of knowledge with age group, marital status, employment, and education level. Good practice was significantly associated with marital status, employment, and education level. A weak but significant relationship between knowledge and practice and between perception and practice. From all, 8.1% feel that Covid-19 is not a dangerous disease Conclusion: Residents in Malaysia had good knowledge on the new social norms during the CMCO. Overall perceptions and practice scored lower. Focus should be on Health education to ensure residents do not revert to old lifestyle so soon