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KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia is extending its Movement Control Order (MCO) almost nationally for fifteen days until February 18, with even tighter restrictions as Covid-19 infection rates continue to rise despite the reimposition of restrictions three weeks ago.
Chief Security Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said on Tuesday (February 2) that the government decided on the extension after a National Security Council (NSC) meeting earlier in the day in which “the Health Ministry confirmed that all states under MCO are showing a trend of increasing cases. “
Only several districts in the eastern state of Sarawak will remain under a less restrictive conditional MCO.
The rest of the country has been under stricter regulations since January 13. Dubbed MCO 2.0, the motion controls were supposed to end on February 4.
Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri, who is also Defense Minister, cited the limitation of the number of people allowed in supermarkets as an example of the application of stricter regulations.
The NSC will issue new standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the MCO in due course, it said.
But the chief minister said the government would still be considering requests from companies to resume operations that were suspended when the MCO was reimposed after the daily Covid-19 number lingered in four digits for nearly two months.
“We are giving more room for maneuver to the economic sectors, especially to small businesses, because we understand that a total blockade will be more difficult for the poorest,” he said.
Tighter measures under the original OLS early last year managed to reduce daily infections to single digits. The current iteration allows manufacturing, construction and various services to remain in business and this has coincided with record peaks in the number of cases. More than 5,000 patients were registered for three consecutive days at the end of last week.
The extension announced Tuesday will limit Chinese New Year celebrations, and the government will only announce specific rules a few days before the festival on February 12.
But Ismail Sabri seems to dismiss interstate travel, citing it as a major source of new Covid-19 clusters.
Malaysia reported 3,455 new cases and a record 21 deaths on Tuesday, bringing the total number of cases and lives lost to 222,628 and 791, respectively.
At his press conference, Ismail Sabri also said that the NSC had outlined ten strategies to address the worsening situation. These include stricter laws passed under the seven-month emergency that began January 11, more aggressive enforcement activities, more stringent screenings and the pursuit of a national vaccination program.
Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, who co-chairs Malaysia’s Covid-19 vaccine committee, has said that the vaccines “will be delivered as scheduled starting this month.”
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