FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
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Malaysia to review Covid-19 curbs after fresh spike in cases, says PM Muhyiddin

Malaysia to review Covid-19 curbs after fresh spike in cases, says PM Muhyiddin

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia will review its current Covid-19 protocols following a drastic spike in cases over the past two weeks, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said on Saturday (May 1).

In a statement, Tan Sri Muhyiddin said the government will re-evaluate the current curbs that are in place, especially for the areas that have been badly affected by the recent spikes.

There have been sharp spikes recorded in the federal territory of Kuala Lumpur and Malaysia's most developed state Selangor in recent days.

"This evaluation is important to ensure that the standard operating procedure (SOP) that is in place is effective to deal with the Covid-19 spread that is increasing in our country and also across the world," Mr Muhyiddin said.

He said his administration is already using an early hot spot identification system to identify premises and areas that are contributing to a rise in coronavirus cases.

"I urge the public to always adhere to SOPs and avoid being in crowded places to protect themselves, their families and the community from Covid-19," he said.

Health Minister Adham Baba told New Straits Times newspaper that his ministry has submitted to the National Security Council  a proposal for the first-tier Movement Control Order (MCO) to be imposed in Selangor, KL, Penang, Johor, Kedah and Sarawak.

Malaysia on Friday logged 3,788 new Covid-19 infections, the highest in 2½ months.

The figure was just one month after new cases dropped to this year's low of 941 infections on March 29.

Malaysia's cases have consistently increased since breaching the 2,000 daily case mark on April 15.

Active cases meanwhile had almost doubled since mid-April, climbing from 15,000 cases to almost 30,000 active cases on Friday.

Malaysia on Saturday logged 2,881 new Covid-19 cases to raise the cumulative total to 411,594.

The country has since late January been in a state of emergency which the government said will help it deal with the pandemic. The state of emergency will last until Aug 1.

Much of Malaysia was under the top-tiered MCO between January and February this year.

Restrictions had been gradually lifted since then amid concerns over the weak economy and job losses.

A nationwide interstate travel ban has been retained.

Today, only the north-eastern state of Kelantan is under the MCO, while several other states are in the mid-tier Conditional MCO.

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