KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia's Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin on Monday (Jan 11) announced fresh nationwide movement restrictions to curb the soaring number of Covid-19 cases.
Six states - Melaka, Johor, Penang, Selangor, Sabah and the Federal Territories including Kuala Lumpur - will re-enter the Movement Control Order (MCO) where social activities and gatherings are banned.
The states of Pahang, Perak, Negeri Sembilan, Kedah, Terengganu and Kelantan will be placed under a less stringent recovery phase of the MCO.
These measures will kick in for 14 days from Wednesday to Jan 26.
"Our health system can no longer afford to take care of 2,000 daily Covid-19 cases, the healthcare system is at a breaking point," Tan Sri Muhyiddin said in a televised address.
Malaysia is experiencing a spike in cases since a third wave of infections began to sweep across the country since September, threatening to overwhelm its healthcare system.
On Sunday, it recorded 2,451 new Covid-19 cases and nine deaths. Of all states, Selangor had the most cases, with 730.
Health director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah on Sunday said he was particularly worried about the high number of deaths in recent weeks. Since Jan 1, there have been 71 fatalities. In comparison, there had only been fewer than 100 fatalities recorded in the first nine months of 2020. The number of cases, which has averaged about 2,000 in recent weeks, reached a record of 3,027 on Jan 7.
Two Cabinet ministers were tested positive for the disease over the weekend.
Economic Affairs Minister Mustapa Mohamed tested positive for the coronavirus last Saturday, three days after he attended a Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) meeting at which Tan Sri Muhyiddin and several other Cabinet members were present.
Datuk Seri Rina Mohd Harun, the Women, Family and Community Development Minister, tested positive for the disease on Sunday. She was admitted to hospital on Monday.
Malaysia has reported a record number of cases on several occasions since the third wave of coronavirus infections began to sweep across the country in September. The latest surge in infections was blamed on the political campaigners who returned from the Sabah state after a two-week campaign for the Sept 26 state election, bringing with them the disease that caused a spike in infections across the peninsula.
The soaring cases are also taking a toll on Malaysia's front-line workers. In December, the health ministry said a total of 1,771 healthcare workers - majority of whom were nurses - had been infected by Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic. Two-thirds of those cases were reported in the third wave of the infections.
Last week, Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham had called for a targeted lockdown, although businesses have expressed concerns that wider restrictions would further damage the economy.
Malaysia first imposed the movement control order (MCO) on March 18 last year, shutting down most businesses, malls, restaurants. It also barred the public from attending any social gatherings.
The restrictions were eased on May 4 to allow the business sectors to resume operations as the number of cases reduced.
It then entered a recovery phase, called the recovery movement control order (RMCO), on June 9.
But the government imposed a conditional movement control order (CMCO) in the capital Kuala Lumpur, the states of Selangor and Putrajaya, and several areas, amid a resurgence of cases triggered by the September Sabah election.
Even as cases continue to soar, the government did not restrict interstate and inter-district travel in much of Malaysia.
Malaysia has recorded a total of 135,992 Covid-19 cases and 551 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMigQFodHRwczovL3d3dy5zdHJhaXRzdGltZXMuY29tL2FzaWEvc2UtYXNpYS9wbS1tdWh5aWRkaW4tdG8taG9sZC1wcmVzcy1jb25mZXJlbmNlLWF0LTZwbS1hcy1tYWxheXNpYS1tdWxscy1wYXJ0aWFsLWxvY2tkb3duLXRvLWN1cmLSAQA?oc=5
2021-01-11 10:29:37Z
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