KUALA LUMPUR, August 7 — The police have arrested 140 individuals for breaching Movement Control Order (MCO) instructions that mandate physical distancing and wearing face masks in public areas.
Senior Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said in a statement today that of these, 32 were remanded while the remaining 108 people were fined for participating in activities involving crowds that complicate physical distancing efforts.
He also said out of 7,175 Malaysians who returned home from overseas between July 24 and August 6, a total of 20 individuals were taken to hospital after testing positive for Covid-19.
Violations of standard operating procedures (SOPs) like physical distancing and wearing face masks in crowded public spaces, amid the Covid-19 outbreak, are punishable with up to RM1,000 fine, a maximum of six months’ jail, or both under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988.
The remands reported today come after three Covid-19 cases were reported late last month in three prisons: one in a lock-up in Negri Sembilan before transfer to a prison, one in Sabah before release from jail, and one prison detainee in Kelantan before transfer to an immigration detention centre.
