Malaysia re-imposes nationwide lockdown to curb COVID-19’s surge

A person in Malaysia is seen wearing a facemask (Photo: Xinhua/VNA)

Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – Malaysia has announced that the entire country, with the exception of Sarawak, will come under the Movement Control Order (MCO) in a bid to contain the spread of COVID-19.

Some localities in Sarawak, including Sibu, Selangau and Kanowit, have also applied the MCO.

Minister of Defence of Malaysia Ismail Sabri Yaakob said that six states – Pahang, Perak, Negeri Sembilan, Kedah, Terengganu and Perlis - will be under the restriction from January 22, following a spike in COVID-19 cases.

The MCO will be in place for two weeks and may be extended.

Earlier, five states of Penang, Selangor, Malacca, Johor and Sabah, and three territories –Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan – imposed the MCO on January 13, and Kalantan on January 16.

Malaysia reported 3,631 new infections on January 19, the second highest daily number since the pandemic broke out in the Southeast Asian country. Selangor continues to log the most of the new cases with 1,199, followed by Sabah (526) and Kuala Lumpur (521)./.