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PUTRAJAYA: A Movement Control Order (MCO) in six Malaysian states and federal territories due to expire on January 26 will run until February 4, Chief Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said on Thursday (January 21).
The affected areas are the states of Penang, Selangor, Johor, Sabah, Malacca and Kelantan, and the federal territories of Putrajaya, Kuala Lumpur and Labuan.
The decision was made on the basis of risk assessment and advice from the Ministry of Health after discovering that daily COVID-19 cases were still increasing in the states, Ismail Sabri said.
After the extension, the MCO period applied in all states has now been standardized, he said at a press conference on MCO development.
On Tuesday, Ismail Sabri announced that six states of Malaysia would be placed under the MCO from Friday.
The six states are Kedah, Perak, Pahang, Terengganu, Perlis, and Negeri Sembilan. The measure would be in effect until February 4.
Last week, the king declared a nationwide state of emergency, which will take effect from January 11 to August 1, to curb the spread of COVID-19.
KUALA LUMPUR RECORDS THE GREATEST NUMBER OF NEW CASES
On Thursday, Malaysia reported 3,170 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the country’s total to 172,549, of which 41,755 are active cases.
The capital Kuala Lumpur had the highest number of infections with 576.
The state of Selangor reported 545, Johor counted 423 and the eastern state of Sabah recorded 401 new cases.
A total of 12 deaths were also reported Thursday, authorities said, all of them Malays between 47 and 84 years old and with a history of various diseases.
This brought the death toll in the country to 642.
READ: Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Announces Ringgit 15 Billion Financial Assistance Package As COVID-19 Cases Rise
SHOPS, FOOD DELIVERY SERVICES EXTENDED AT 10PM
The government agreed to allow restaurants and food delivery services in the states that belong to the MCO to operate until 10 p.m. starting Friday, Ismail Sabri said.
The government took the step to heed comments from consumers and merchants that the permitted hours of operation, that is, 6 am to 8 pm, were not adequate, he added.
“As I have said, the government always listens to the opinions of the people. We were aware of the many complaints (about this) and that is why we quickly held meetings since last week to deliberate on it, ”said the minister.
However, he noted that standard operating procedures still apply, so dining on the premises would not be allowed and only take-out, delivery and take-out would be allowed.
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