COVID-19: Malaysia's total lockdown extended for two weeks until Jun 28 - channelnewsasia.com

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s movement control order, known as MCO 3.0, will be extended for another two weeks from Jun 15 to Jun 28.

Senior Minister for Defence Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced in a statement on Friday (Jun 11) that the decision to extend the MCO 3.0 was made as daily case numbers still exceeded 5,000.

“The positive/negative list (permitted and prohibited activities) and standard operating procedures (SOPs) for every manufacturing, business and industrial activity still remains as announced before this,” he said after attending a National Security Council meeting.

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In May, a nationwide MCO was re-imposed in Malaysia amid a third wave of COVID-19 cases. 

Known as MCO 3.0, all economic sectors were allowed to operate during the period but cross-district and interstate travel as well as social, sports and educational activities were prohibited.

Stricter restrictions on the economic and social sectors were later announced on May 21 as community cases continued to rise. The emergence of new variants have also delayed efforts to flatten the infection curve, the Prime Minister’s Office had said. 

On May 28, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced that the country would go into total lockdown for 14 days beginning Jun 1, with only essential economic and service sectors allowed to carry on with their operations.

Case number breached the 9,000-mark on May 29, before the lockdown measures brought daily infections down gradually. On Friday, a total of 6,846 cases were reported.  

READ: UMNO wants state of emergency to end as scheduled, parliament to sit, Ahmad Zahid informs king

If the first phase of total lockdown could reduce the number of daily cases, then the country would ease into a four-week second phase, where more economic sectors would be allowed to reopen. 

Phase 3 would be similar to the movement control order (MCO) that has been enforced in the country, where nearly all economic sectors are allowed to operate with strict SOPs. 

The progression from one phase to another would be subject to the Ministry of Health’s risk assessments.

As of Friday, Malaysia’s national COVID-19 tally stood at 646,411. 

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