It has also seen 1,700 deaths from COVID-19. On Monday, Malaysian health authorities announced 3,807 new infections, bringing the nation’s total to 444,484 confirmed cases, the third highest infection rate in Southeast Asia behind Indonesia and the Philippines. Given the presence of infectious new variants of COVID-19, he said that Malaysia faced an India-style epidemic if decisive action was not taken soon. Noor Hisham told the press that daily cases were on track to reach 5,000 in the coming weeks. Muhyiddin’s announcement came a couple days after health Director-General Dr. In total, Malaysia’s total tally has risen threefold since January. After surviving a spike of infections in January and February, which prompted Muhyiddin’s government to declare a controversial state of emergency, new coronavirus cases have been steadily increasing for several weeks, consistently exceeding 3,500 per day.
Malaysia’s lockdown is intended to curtail a steady rise in infection numbers.
#Mco malaysia total lockdown full#
This is the second year in a row that Eid has been overshadowed by coronavirus lockdowns.Įnjoying this article? Click here to subscribe for full access. The partial lockdown, known as a movement control order (MCO) in bureaucratese, has also forced the country’s busy Ramadan food bazaars and night markets to close on the cusp of the most important holiday in the Muslim calendar. Get briefed on the story of the week, and developing stories to watch across the Asia-Pacific. “Malaysia is facing a third wave of COVID-19 that could trigger a national crisis.” He also cited “weaknesses in COVID-19 protocol compliance by some,” something that called for “the government take drastic action.”Īs in neighboring Indonesia, the restrictions mean that Malaysian Muslims will not be permitted to visit family members for tomorrow’s Eid festival, which marks the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
“There are now COVID-19 variants that are more infectious while the capacity of the public health system is becoming more critical,” Muhyiddin said. Events will be postponed and schools will be closed. “There are also grave concerns of whether the government can continue to provide financial aid to businesses, especially wage subsidies and loan moratoriums, to the people impacted by a second total lockdown given the near ending of most of the key aid that are currently being provided by the government which have been instrumental in supporting the recovery of businesses and ensuring job security thus far,“ he said.Today, Malaysia will go into its third lockdown to head off a surge of a highly infections variant of COVID-19, unexpectedly curtailing Eid festivities for Malaysian Muslims for the second year running.īetween today and June 7, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced on Monday, social activities including dining out are banned and all inter-state and inter-district travel is forbidden except for medical or other approved reasons. Soh said based on feedback from FMM members, a lockdown lasting for four weeks and more will reduce business sustainability by about one to three months. “Should a second total lockdown be instituted, there is grave fear over the collapse of the business sector and economy given that several major states serve as the country’s economic hubs,“ he added. Soh said apart from a substantial drop in revenue and financial losses, businesses also faced severe challenges in terms of sustainability, employment and productivity during the first MCO. “As it stands, the business fraternity and the economy are still reeling from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the first lockdown, and most have yet to recover to the pre-Covid-19 level,” he said in a statement today. “We support a targeted Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) which is more localised coupled with stricter SOPs and travel restrictions but not a total lockdown similar to that implemented in March/April 2020. PETALING JAYA: The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) is concerned that a second Movement Control Order (MCO) could lead to the collapse of businesses and industries in Malaysia.įMM president Tan Sri Soh Thian Lai said business and economic activities must be allowed to continue, possibly under stricter Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).