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KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysians packed hypermarkets and restaurants over the weekend to stock up on supplies and dine with family and friends, before Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announces new movement restrictions on Monday (January 11) to address the growing cases of coronavirus.
Long lines were observed in supermarkets and hypermarkets, and some supermarkets were said to be out of stock of items such as toilet paper rolls and vegetables. Two cabinet ministers issued statements on Sunday urging buyers not to panic when buying.
Lawyer Amna Karmila, 50, was one of those who ate out.
“I wanted to take my 16 year old son for a quick breakfast on Saturday before stricter rules are put in place as he has been studying hard at home and the school is supposed to reopen on January 20. I was surprised to see a queue of people outside the restaurant, “he told The Straits Times.
Irene Low, a 40-year-old woman who works in the retail industry, had lunch with her husband’s aunt, who had told her it was the “last chance to do so” before new restrictions came in.
Meanwhile, Norvivian tutor Hasan, 35, took her children to an indoor theme park in Kuala Lumpur.
Others also took advantage of the weekend to take short trips. A 26-year-old European expat working in communications, who just wanted to be known as Gaby, told The Straits Times: “I went to Genting Highlands this weekend to enjoy the beautiful view and the mountain. We didn’t leave the hotel. We just wanted to see the horizon before we were locked up again. “
Nur Syawarina Mokhtar, a hotel receptionist in Port Dickson, one of the popular beachside destinations near the capital Kuala Lumpur, said the resort where she worked was 90 percent busy over the weekend, more than occupancy over the New Years weekend. .
“This may be due to the expected announcement of tighter movement controls this week. (On Saturday) there were traffic jams all day in Port Dickson due to the large number of local tourists,” he told The Straits Times.
Rumors of an imminent shutdown have been circulating since the country’s top health official, Health Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah, called for selective closures last Wednesday as the number of active coronavirus cases hit an all-time high, threatening with overwhelming Malaysian hospitals.
Chief Security Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob had said that Tan Sri Muhyiddin would announce new measures on Monday to address the latest increase. But he added that the measures would not resemble the near-total lockdown that Malaysia had imposed for nearly three months last year at the start of the pandemic.
Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Alexander Nanta Linggi on Sunday urged Malaysians to avoid panic buying, assuring them that food supplies were adequate in the country.
Ismail had also urged the same, saying the government would allow enough time for Malaysians to prepare for any new measures announced.
Malaysia’s daily cases reached a record high of 3,027 last Thursday (Jan 7). On Sunday it registered 2,433 cases.
The number of active cases now represents 95 percent of the reserved bed capacity in public hospitals to care for coronavirus patients.
Deaths from Covid-19 are also increasing dramatically in Malaysia, with 80 deaths recorded in the first 10 days of 2021. The country now has 135,992 total registered coronavirus cases, with 551 deaths.
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