Cinmpring kici

Senin, 11 Januari 2021

Malaysian PM Muhyiddin announces tightened COVID-19 curbs, 5 states and 3 federal territories again placed under MCO - CNA

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will tighten COVID-19 restrictions beginning Wednesday (Jan 13), said Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin in a renewed effort to combat the country's alarming rise of COVID-19 cases.

In a televised address on Monday, Mr Muhyiddin said five states, including Penang, Selangor, Melaka, Johor and Sabah, and the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan will be placed under Movement Control Order (MCO) again for two weeks until Jan 26.

Interstate travel is banned across the country, while travelling between districts is not allowed for the states under MCO, he added.

"To prevent cross-state and cross-district (travel), roadblocks will be enforced from 12.01am on Wednesday," Mr Muhyiddin said, adding that movement was limited to a 10km radius for the states under MCO.

The country's healthcare system is at breaking point, the prime minister said.

"The situation today is indeed very alarming, Our healthcare system is under tremendous pressure now than at any other time since the start of the pandemic. As I have said before, unprecedented situations call for unprecedented measures," he added.

Recent four-digit daily jump in cases brought the national total to more than 135,000, with more than 550 deaths. On Monday, 2,232 new cases brought the total active cases to 28,554.

Two Cabinet ministers were also hospitalised for COVID-19 within the last three days.

Virus Outbreak Malaysia — Residents register for coronavirus testing at a private hospital in Sunway, on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Oct 7, 2020. (Photo: AP/Vincent Thian)

In his address, Mr Muhyiddin said another six states - Pahang, Perak, Negeri Sembilan, Kedah, Terengganu and Kelantan - will be placed under conditional MCO (CMCO), while Perlis and Sarawak are under the recovery MCO (RMCO).

He added that social activities such as wedding receptions, conferences, religious gatherings, seminars, courses and mass sports are not allowed.

STUDENTS AND EXAM CANDIDATES ALLOWED TO ATTEND SCHOOL

While strict movement restrictions are in place, an exception would be provided for students and examination candidates, including those sitting for their Malaysian Certificate of Education (SPM) examinations in 2020 and 2021.

"They will be allowed to attend school with tight standard operating procedures (SOPs). The Education Ministry will give more details on the SOPs," he said.

The government has also identified five sectors which are allowed to operate and categorised as essential economic sectors, which are manufacturing, construction, services, trade and distribution, and the plantation and commodities, the prime minister added.

Mr Muhyiddin also announced that the third phase of clinical trials for the COVID-19 vaccines will take place on Jan 21 in nine ministry hospitals. A total of 3,000 volunteers will be involved.

In addition, the country is expected to receive the first phase supplies of Pfizer vaccines by the end of February.

"These coming two weeks are very important not just for ourselves, but for the country.

"All forms of freedom that we have sacrificed - cutting connection with friends, isolating at home, and the difficulty to carry out social activities outside, can save our lives," Mr Muhyiddin said.

READ: IN FOCUS - Prolonged school closure in Malaysia due to COVID-19 shakes up learning experience

Malaysia enforced the MCO beginning Mar 18 last year, mandating business closure and travel restrictions in a bid to rein in the spread of COVID-19.

The SOPs were gradually relaxed when the MCO was replaced by CMCO and then RMCO. More businesses were allowed to reopen while tourism activities could resume, among others.

People wearing protective masks and following social distancing measures ride a Mass Rapid Transit — People wearing protective masks on a train in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Oct 30, 2020. (File photo: REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng)

However, new cases began spiking in September with new clusters detected in the state of Sabah, marking the start of Malaysia’s “third wave”.

By mid-October, Sabah and the federal territory of Labuan were placed back under CMCO status, and Selangor and the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya soon followed suit.

On Oct 25, the Malaysian ruler rejected Mr Muhyiddin's suggestion to declare a state of emergency in the country over the COVID-19 situation. Nonetheless, emergency was later invoked in Batu Sapi and Bugaya in Sabah as well as Gerik in Perak so to delay the by-elections that were due to take place in these constituencies.

A record high of 3,027 cases was reported on Jan 7.

Health Ministry director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah said last week that Malaysia’s COVID-19 treatment and quarantine facilities were being pressured to “breaking point”. He also said authorities were mulling the potential of implementing home quarantines for low-risk and asymptomatic COVID-19 patients.

While Malaysia's bed capacity for COVID-19 patients is 23,000, active cases have surpassed 28,000 currently.

BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its developments

Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMibmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNoYW5uZWxuZXdzYXNpYS5jb20vbmV3cy9hc2lhL21hbGF5c2lhLW11aHlpZGRpbi1tY28tY292aWQtMTktY3VyYnMtNS1zdGF0ZXMta2wtcHV0cmFqYXlhLTEzOTM2NzM00gEA?oc=5

2021-01-11 11:48:45Z
52781297623922

Malaysia to impose MCO for 2 weeks from Jan 13 in several states to curb Covid-19 cases: Muhyiddin - The Straits Times

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.

Five states - Melaka, Johor, Penang, Selangor and Sabah - and the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya will re-enter the movement control order (MCO), where social activities and gatherings are banned.

"Our health system can no longer afford to handle 2,000 daily Covid-19 cases. It is at a breaking point," Tan Sri Muhyiddin said in a televised address.

"To break the Covid-19 chain, the government, with the advice of the Health Ministry, has decided to implement the movement control order (MCO) for a period of 14 days."

He said these measures will kick in from Wednesday to Jan 26.

The states of Pahang, Perak, Negeri Sembilan, Kedah, Terengganu and Kelantan will be placed under the less-stringent conditional MCO, while Perlis and Sarawak will be placed under the recovery phase of the MCO.

Under the conditional MCO, most businesses are allowed to operate but religious, cultural, recreational, and sporting activities are banned. And the states under recovery MCO allow social gatherings and inter-state travels with some limitations such as safe distancing.

Malaysia is experiencing a spike in cases since a third wave of infections began to sweep across the country from 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 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 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 Mr 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.

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 number of cases is also taking a toll on Malaysia's front-line workers. In December, the health ministry said 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 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 state of Selangor and Putrajaya, and several areas, amid a resurgence of cases triggered by the September Sabah election.

Prior to this, the government had not restricted 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.

Malaysia to impose MCO for 2 weeks from Jan 13 in 6 states to curb Covid-19 cases: Muhyiddin - The Straits Times

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.

Malaysian PM to speak to public at 6pm as govt mulls over partial lockdown to curb soaring Covid-19 cases - The Straits Times

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia's Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin is expected to announce further restrictions via a special telecast at 6pm on Monday (Jan 11) to contain the soaring number of daily infections that remains consistently in the thousands in recent weeks, with two Cabinet ministers becoming the disease's latest victims.

Malaysia on Sunday 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 in a press statement on Sunday said he was particularly worried about the high number of deaths in recent weeks. Since Jan 1, there have been 71 fatalities. On Jan 7, the country also recorded the highest number of cases at 3,027 since the start of the pandemic.