Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has announced new measures to tackle the rising number of COVID-19 cases in Malaysia. This include Movement Control Order (MCO) for 6 states and territories including Pulau Pinang, Selangor, Federal Territory (including Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya), Melaka, Johor and Sabah.
Meanwhile, Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) has been declared for 6 states – Pahang, Perak, Negeri Sembilan, Kedah, Terengganu and Kelantan. The states of Perlis and Sarawak are placed under Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO).
The new MCO, CMCO and RMCO measures will take into effect from 12.01am on Wednesday, 13th January to 26th January 2021.
Under the new movement orders, all forms of activities including sports, social gatherings, weddings and conferences are not permitted at MCO areas. Interstate travel is also not allowed nationwide while interdistrict travel is prohibited in MCO areas.
Residents in MCO areas are only allowed to move within a radius of 10km. Only 2 per household can travel in a vehicle during the MCO period. Offenders can be fined up to RM1,000.
In terms of economic sectors, the government will allow 5 sectors to operate during the MCO period. This include manufacturing, construction, services, trading and distribution, as well as plantation and commodities.
The Ministry of International Trade and Industry will provide further details on the list of permitted businesses that fall under essential economic sectors. For sectors that don’t fall under essential services are urged to work from home.
During the MCO enforcement, dine-in is not allowed and all eateries are only allowed to operate for takeaway and delivery only. Meanwhile, eateries in areas under CMCO and RMCO are still allowed to operate as usual while adhering to the SOP.
Students that are taking SPM and STPM this year are allowed to attend school with strict SOP. The Education Ministry will provide more details on the SOP.
The Prime Minister said the new measures were necessary to bring down the numbers of daily cases to a more manageable level. He added that the healthcare system is at a breaking point and we can’t endure 2,000 cases daily in the long run. The situation is alarming and the healthcare system is under tremendous pressure. Unprecedented situation calls for unprecedented measures, he added.
Malaysia has been recording over 2,000 new cases daily for the past 6 consecutive days. As of yesterday, there are a total of 135,992 positive cases and 551 deaths recorded so far. Health D-G Dr Noor Hisham has recently shared that based on the R0 infectivity rate of 1.2, Malaysia could record as high as 8,000 new cases in a day by 3rd week of March 2021.
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