KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia will go into a total nationwide lockdown for all social and economic sectors from next Tuesday (June 1) to June 14.
Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's announcement on Friday (May 28) comes as the country reported 8,290 new coronavirus cases that day, its fourth straight day of record infections. This brings the total cumulative cases since the start of the pandemic to 549,514.
Only essential economic sectors and services will be allowed to operate, Tan Sri Muhyiddin said.
“This decision was made after taking into account the current situation of the Covid-19 outbreak in Malaysia with daily cases surpassing 8,000 and over 70,000 active cases,” he said in a statement.
“As of today, 2,552 have passed away from this pandemic, and the number of deaths is increasing. The presence of more aggressive variants with higher infectivity also influenced today’s decision.”
The Premier, who on Sunday insisted a total lockdown would cause more damage by ruining an already ailing economy, added that “hospital capacity nationwide to treat Covid-19 patients is also becoming increasingly limited”.
Malaysia reported 61 deaths from the virus on Friday, matching a previous peak recorded on Monday. This is the first month since the pandemic began last year that more than 1,000 lives have been lost.
The Premier on Friday also outlined an exit strategy from the total shutdown, should it succeed in reducing the number of new Covid-19 cases.
A second phase lasting four weeks will follow, which will allow more sectors to reopen, provided these activities do not involve large gatherings.
Should the situation improve further, restrictions will be further eased under a third phase. This will be similar to current movement control rules, where most economic activities - subject to standard operating procedures (SOP)and health protocols - will resume, while social activities will still be barred.
“The decision to shift from one phase to the next will be subject to a risk assessment by the Health Ministry. This will be based on the development of daily cases and hospital capacity nationwide,” Mr Muhyiddin said.
Friday's announcement did not outline specific regulations. It is expected that the National Security Council will decide on these over the weekend and issue new SOPs ahead of their implementation on Tuesday.
Given the impact of the lockdown, the Prime Minister said that the Finance Ministry will develop an aid package for the public and affected economic sectors.
Malaysia had hoped its economy would recover to pre-coronavirus levels with up to 7.5 per cent growth this year, having experienced a 5.6 decline last year, the worst since the 1998 Asian Financial Crisis.
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2021-05-28 12:35:59Z
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