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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s movement control order (MCO) will extend for one more month until June 9, its fourth extension since it was enforced on March 18, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said.
In a special speech on Sunday (May 10), the prime minister said that despite the country seeing many positive developments in its fight against COVID-19, the efforts have not been successful. The MCO was originally scheduled to end on Tuesday.
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“Based on public opinion, I realized that people want the government to continue taking the necessary steps to fight the epidemic.
“Therefore, on the advice of the Ministry of Health and the National Security Council, I would like to announce that the conditional MCO, which was enforced until May 12, will run until June 9, which is another four weeks plus”. said.
The MCO, which went into effect on March 18 to curb the spread of COVID-19, has previously expanded three times, each for two weeks.
Under the partial closure, nonessential businesses and schools were closed, while national and international travel was banned.
There are indications that the restrictions have successfully reduced the number of new infections in Malaysia. Since the initial three-digit increase, new cases decreased to a mostly double-digit increase beginning in mid-April.
As of Saturday, the country reported a total of 6,589 cases and 108 deaths. About 75 percent of patients have recovered.
To mitigate the economic impact, Putrajaya launched three economic stimulus packages worth RM260 billion (US $ 60 billion).
Muhyiddin said earlier in his Labor Day speech that total losses due to COVID-19 curbs were estimated to be RM63 billion.
The government has eased some COVID-19 restrictions by allowing most economic sectors to resume operations starting May 4 under a “conditional MCO,” in a measure welcomed by industry players.
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