In spite of the measures in the Klang Valley, widespread testing has unveiled a high volume of COVID-19 cases.
Daily caseload reached five figures for the first time on Jul 13 with 11,079 new infections, and more than half of the new cases were detected in the Klang Valley.
Following the king's decree, the House of Representatives met for the first time in 2021.
During the special parliamentary meeting from Jul 26, the prime minister and other ministers briefed the MPs on the country’s COVID-19 response.
In his presentation, Mr Muhyiddin said most Malaysian states are likely to move into phase four or the final phase of the country’s COVID-19 exit strategy by October at the earliest.
Mr Khairy Jamaluddin, coordinating minister for the immunisation programme, said 25.2 per cent of the adult population are fully vaccinated as of Jul 27.
The meeting was supposed to last for five days, but was cut short to four days after COVID-19 cases were detected in the parliament.
The state of emergency has ended on Aug 1 as scheduled. The motion to debate and annul the emergency ordinances would be tabled in the parliament in September, following different interpretations over the king's role in the process.
On Aug 4, Malaysia hit another record high for new COVID-19 cases with 19,819 infections, taking the national total to 1,183,110.
Daily fatalities also hit a new high at 257 on the same day. There have been more than 9,800 deaths so far.
KUALA LUMPUR - When Madam Fiari Suhaimi and her five-year-old son visited a clinic on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur in June for a routine check-up, she assumed it had in place health protocols to prevent Covid-19 infections.
Instead, they found themselves in the same waiting room as a family who they later learnt had tested positive for the virus.
Several days later, she, her son and her husband also tested positive, with the Delta variant of the coronavirus.
"We were waiting for our turn at a clinic, when a family of four came out of the consultation room. We continued waiting in the same area as them for about 15 minutes before my son was called in," the administration clerk told The Straits Times (ST).
"We returned to the waiting area after that. That's when we heard the nurse casually telling the family that they had all tested positive and were to self-quarantine at home. I was horrified," she said.
Daily Covid-19 cases in Malaysia have continued to chart record highs, fuelled by the more transmissible Delta strain. On Wednesday (Aug 4), new daily infections spiked at 19,819 cases, the highest since the pandemic began, while the daily death toll hit 257, also a record.
Malaysia's health chief Noor Hisham Abdullah had previously warned that the number of new cases would increase as the Delta variant, which can be easily transmitted by air, has been detected in almost every state.
Madam Fiari, 35, said she had assumed that the clinic would sanitise its premises regularly and keep potential Covid-19 patients in a separate area.
After she and her family tested positive, the health ministry said they might have been exposed to the virus at the clinic. However, only genome sequencing can conclusively pinpoint if they were indeed infected there.
Experts, however, say lax measures at private clinics are not the only factor at play.
"It's not impossible (for it to happen) because most clinics have poor airflow as they were converted from normal shoplots. They don't have a negative pressure room to treat patients with infectious illnesses like in hospitals," Professor Sazaly Abu Bakar, director of the Tropical Infectious Diseases Research and Education Centre at Universiti Malaya told ST.
"GPs have never experienced handling infectious diseases of this scale before, so I don't think it's just poor protocols practised by them," he said, referring to general practitioners.
Professor Sazaly added that GPs must now consider improving their clinics' air circulation and it is something that "needs to permanently change".
"Not just for Covid-19 but also for measles and influenza. Before this, people took these things for granted, but Covid-19 teaches us not to take airflow for granted - it's critical and pivotal," he said, adding that patients should be screened before they enter the clinic.
Meanwhile, the fear of randomly contracting the virus has also led some to stop seeking medical help.
Madam Hazlina Hussein, 42, an advertising executive, told ST: "My (six-year-old) son is overdue for his chickenpox vaccine and I have been delaying it because I am very worried about the high number of cases in Kuala Lumpur. I know his vaccine is important, but now that private hospitals are treating Covid-19 patients, I don't know if it is safe to go to one."
TOKYO: Japan warned on Wednesday (Aug 4) that coronavirus infections were surging at an unprecedented pace as new cases hit a record high in Tokyo, overshadowing the Olympics and adding to doubts over the government's handling of the pandemic.
The Delta variant was leading to a spread of infections "unseen in the past", Health Minister Norihisa Tamura said as he defended a new policy of asking patients with milder symptoms to isolate at home rather than going to hospital.
"The pandemic has entered a new phase ... Unless we have enough beds, we can't bring people to hospital. We're acting pre-emptively on this front," Tamura told parliament.
But he signalled the chance of rolling back the policy, as the decision to ask some sick people to stay at home has drawn criticism from medical experts as putting lives at risk.
"If things don't turn out as we expect, we can roll back the policy," Tamura said, adding the policy shift was a move to deal with the unexpectedly fast spread of the new variant.
Japan has seen a sharp increase in coronavirus cases. Tokyo reported a record 4,166 new cases on Wednesday. Nationwide, newly reported cases totalled a new record of more than 14,200, according to public broadcaster NHK.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on Monday only COVID-19 patients who were seriously ill and those at risk of becoming so would be hospitalised, while others should isolate at home, a shift in policy some fear may lead to an increase in deaths.
Officials in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party have agreed to seek to withdraw of the policy, the Jiji news agency reported on Wednesday, joining similar calls made by opposition lawmakers.
In response to criticism, Suga told reporters on Wednesday that the new hospitalisation policy was aimed at regions with a surge in COVID-19 cases, such as Tokyo, and not uniform throughout the country.
"We'll thoroughly explain our policy and seek public understanding," he said.
The outcry is another setback for Suga, who has seen support plunge over his handling of the pandemic ahead of general elections to be held this year.
Polls have shown many Japanese people opposed to holding the Olympics while the country lagged in efforts to contain the pandemic and vaccinate the population.
Suga and Olympics organisers have said there is no link between the Games and the spike in cases.
But senior medical adviser Shigeru Omi told parliament that hosting the Games may have affected public sentiment and eroded the impact of government requests for people to stay home.
Imposing a nationwide state of emergency could be an option to deal with the pandemic, he said. States of emergency are already in place in several prefectures, as well as in Tokyo.
NHK reported that the government would expand quasi emergency steps to cover more regions of the country.
"Political leaders are sending out messages to the public in earnest but probably not as strongly and consistently as hoped," Omi said. "We're seeing COVID-19 clusters emerge more broadly including at schools and offices."
KUALA LUMPUR: The Pakatan Harapan coalition and several other Malaysian lawmakers on Wednesday (Aug 4) rejected the leadership of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, after the latter stated that he continued to command a parliamentary majority.
“It is impossible for Tan Sri Mahiaddin to still command the support of majority of MPs, after yesterday's announcement that a number of government MPs have withdrawn their support.
"We maintain our position that Tan Sri Mahiaddin and the whole Cabinet must resign,” they said in a joint statement.
The statement was signed off by Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) president Anwar Ibrahim as well as the leaders of the Democratic Action Party (DAP) and Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah).
Four other lawmakers, including an independent politician, two MPs from Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) and an MP from the United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (UPKO), were also among the signees.
Mahiaddin Md Yasin is the prime minister's official name, although he is widely known as Muhyiddin Yassin.
On Tuesday, United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi claimed that he has gathered a sufficient number of statutory declarations (SDs) from party lawmakers who are withdrawing their support for Mr Muhyiddin. As such, Mr Muhyiddin has lost his parliamentary majority, he said.
A minister from UMNO also resigned from the Cabinet on Tuesday. Mr Shamsul Anuar Nasarah, who is Lenggong MP, said in a statement that he is stepping down as the energy and natural resources minister after taking party decisions into consideration.
View of a special session of the Dewan Rakyat (House of Representatives) at the Parliament in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Jul 26, 2021. (Photo: AFP/Malaysia's Department of Information/Handout)
He said he will prove his majority in the parliament next month.
"I am aware that my position as prime minister always gets questioned.
"Therefore, I have informed the king that I will prove my legitimacy as prime minister in the parliament. A motion of confidence will be tabled when the parliament meets in September," he said.
He urged all public servants, especially the frontliners, to carry out their duties without being affected by the political turmoil created by "certain parties".
"I know they are not happy with my insistence to not entertain some of their demands, including urging me to intervene in court affairs to acquit several individuals who are being prosecuted for criminal offences," Mr Muhyiddin said.
MOTION OF CONFIDENCE SHOULD BE TABLED BEFORE AUG 9: OPPOSITION
In a separate statement on Wednesday, opposition MPs said a special parliament meeting must be held no later than Aug 9 to table and debate the motion of confidence on the prime minister.
"We cannot accept that the issue of support for the prime minister is postponed until September.
"It is highly unreasonable for a government, whose legitimacy and majority support have been questioned, to delay the process to determine its support at the parliament," the statement said.
The motion must be tabled, debated and decided right now to put an end to the issue of the prime minister's legitimacy, it added.
The MPs who signed off the statement were Mr Anwar, Mr Mohamad Sabu (Amanah), Mr Lim Guan Eng (DAP), Mr Mohd Shafie Apdal (Parti Warisan Sabah, Warisan), Mr Mukhriz Mahathir (Pejuang), Mr Wilfred Madius Tangau (UPKO), Mr Baru Bian (PSB), Mr Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman (MUDA) and Mr Maszlee Malik (independent).
UMNO president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi speaking at the party's annual general assembly. (Photo: Facebook/UMNO)
Ahmad Zahid also said on Wednesday that the prime minister should convene a special parliamentary session immediately to prove that he still enjoys a majority in the House.
In a statement, he said he has submitted eight SDs from UMNO lawmakers who are withdrawing their support for Mr Muhyiddin to the king on Jul 30.
There were now more SDs from UMNO MPs, following the party supreme council's decision to withdraw support for the Perikatan Nasional government and the prime minister.
"I have written a letter to the king today to present additional SDs, as an extension of the previous letter," he said.
Ahmad Zahid said the prime minister's statement that he still commands a majority is "not true", adding that PN only had 114 MPs prior to this. The Malaysian parliament has 222 seats but two MPs had passed away.
Warisan leader Shafie Apdal speaking at an event with youths near Kota Kinabalu. (Photo: Parti Warisan Sabah)
In a statement on his Facebook page, Mr Mohd Shafie, who is Warisan president, said he and seven other party lawmakers are unanimously urging the prime minister and his Cabinet to resign immediately.
"We would also like to stress that a parliament meeting to determine Tan Sri Mahiaddin Yasin's majority should be held as soon as possible, without having to wait until September," he said.
Parti Pejuang Tanahair information chief Ulya Aqamah Husamudin added on Wednesday that the party has never signed any statutory declaration supporting the prime minister. The party is led by former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad.
"Prior to this, Pejuang has consistently stated that we do not agree with the current government and has repeatedly requested the prime minister and his Cabinet to resign," he said.
BEIJING: China on Wednesday (Aug 4) tightened overseas travel restrictions for its citizens as part of efforts to contain rising COVID-19 cases, after reporting its highest number of infections in months.
The movement of people is coming under more restriction inside China - with localised transport closures and stay-at-home orders in places in some cities - and beyond China's borders.
China had previously boasted of its success in crushing COVID-19, with hard lockdowns in the early stages mixed with tight controls of its borders, but mass-testing campaigns have uncovered Delta variant infections across the country.
The latest outbreak is threatening the country's return to normal life and an economic rebound with nearly 500 domestic cases reported since mid-July.
Local governments have tested entire cities and locked down millions, with the official figures on Wednesday revealing 71 new infections - the most since January, but still a low caseload despite the outbreak spreading to dozens of cities.
The outbreak, which began when an infection among passengers on a flight from Moscow spread to airport cleaners in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, has exposed weaknesses in the country's already strict border containment measures.
China's immigration authority on Wednesday announced that it would stop issuing ordinary passports and other documents needed for exiting the country in "non-essential and non-emergency" cases.
That does not yet mean a blanket overseas travel ban for the Chinese public.
Immigration official Liu Haitao told a press briefing that those who "have real needs for studying abroad, employment and business" will still have their documents issued upon verification.
Foreign crews on hundreds of ships have been stopped from disembarking and changing shifts at Chinese ports.
The central government has also ordered localities to cut off public transport and taxis in and out of areas hit by the outbreak, the transport ministry said at the same press conference.
China is battling its biggest COVID-19 outbreak in months. (Photo: AFP/STR)
MASS TESTING
Wuhan, where the virus first emerged in 2019, reported its first local infections in over a year this week, and said on Tuesday that it was "swiftly launching" testing of all 11 million residents.
Long lines of residents waited at outdoor testing stations in the summer heat on Tuesday, fanning themselves with paper forms while workers in HAZMAT suits took throat samples.
In Beijing, where the city government reported three new virus cases on Wednesday, authorities blocked entrances to a compound where one of the patients lived, while residents reached over fences to receive parcels from delivery drivers.
Nanjing has tested its 9.2 million residents three times after shutting down gyms and cinemas and closing off residential compounds.
And the tourist destination of Zhangjiajie in central Hunan province, where infected travellers who had been in Nanjing attended a theatre performance, abruptly announced on Tuesday that no one would be allowed to exit the city after it emerged as an infection hotspot.
Meanwhile, Shanghai is investigating a Delta case detected in an airport worker this week.
Authorities said on Wednesday that the infection was not linked to other domestic cases and that they suspected the worker had been exposed after removing protective equipment while in a "contaminated area".
KUALA LUMPUR: The Pakatan Harapan coalition and several other Malaysian lawmakers on Wednesday (Aug 4) rejected the leadership of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, after the latter stated that he continued to command a parliamentary majority.
“It is impossible for Tan Sri Mahiaddin to still command the support of majority of MPs, after yesterday's announcement that a number of government MPs have withdrawn their support.
"We maintain our position that Tan Sri Mahiaddin and the whole Cabinet must resign,” they said in a joint statement.
The statement was signed off by Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) president Anwar Ibrahim as well as the leaders of the Democratic Action Party (DAP) and Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah).
Four other lawmakers, including an independent politician, two MPs from Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) and an MP from the United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (UPKO), were also among the signees.
Mahiaddin Md Yasin is the prime minister's official name, although he is widely known as Muhyiddin Yassin.
On Tuesday, United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi claimed that he has gathered a sufficient number of statutory declarations (SDs) from party lawmakers who are withdrawing their support for Mr Muhyiddin. As such, Mr Muhyiddin has lost his parliamentary majority, he said.
A minister from UMNO also resigned from the Cabinet on Tuesday. Mr Shamsul Anuar Nasarah, who is Lenggong MP, said in a statement that he is stepping down as the energy and natural resources minister after taking party decisions into consideration.
View of a special session of the Dewan Rakyat (House of Representatives) at the Parliament in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Jul 26, 2021. (Photo: AFP/Malaysia's Department of Information/Handout)
He said he will prove his majority in the parliament next month.
"I am aware that my position as prime minister always gets questioned.
"Therefore, I have informed the king that I will prove my legitimacy as prime minister in the parliament. A motion of confidence will be tabled when the parliament meets in September," he said.
He urged all public servants, especially the frontliners, to carry out their duties without being affected by the political turmoil created by "certain parties".
"I know they are not happy with my insistence to not entertain some of their demands, including urging me to intervene in court affairs to acquit several individuals who are being prosecuted for criminal offences," Mr Muhyiddin said.
MOTION OF CONFIDENCE SHOULD BE TABLED BEFORE AUG 9: OPPOSITION
In a separate statement on Wednesday, opposition MPs said a special parliament meeting must be held no later than Aug 9 to table and debate the motion of confidence on the prime minister.
"We cannot accept that the issue of support for the prime minister is postponed until September.
"It is highly unreasonable for a government, whose legitimacy and majority support have been questioned, to delay the process to determine its support at the parliament," the statement said.
The motion must be tabled, debated and decided right now to put an end to the issue of the prime minister's legitimacy, it added.
The MPs who signed off the statement were Mr Anwar, Mr Mohamad Sabu (Amanah), Mr Lim Guan Eng (DAP), Mr Mohd Shafie Apdal (Parti Warisan Sabah, Warisan), Mr Mukhriz Mahathir (Pejuang), Mr Wilfred Madius Tangau (UPKO), Mr Baru Bian (PSB), Mr Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman (MUDA) and Mr Maszlee Malik (independent).
Warisan leader Shafie Apdal speaking at an event with youths near Kota Kinabalu. (Photo: Parti Warisan Sabah)
In a statement on his Facebook page, Mr Mohd Shafie, who is Warisan president, said he and seven other party lawmakers are unanimously urging the prime minister and his Cabinet to resign immediately.
"We would also like to stress that a parliament meeting to determine Tan Sri Mahiaddin Yasin's majority should be held as soon as possible, without having to wait until September," he said.
Parti Pejuang Tanahair information chief Ulya Aqamah Husamudin added on Wednesday that the party has never signed any statutory declaration supporting the prime minister. The party is led by former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad.
"Prior to this, Pejuang has consistently stated that we do not agree with the current government and has repeatedly requested the prime minister and his Cabinet to resign," he said.
