KUALA LUMPUR, May 20 — The National Security Council (NSC) will deliberate tomorrow on whether to impose a complete nationwide lockdown amid surging Covid-19 infections, Takiyuddin Hassan said.
Utusan Malaysia reported the de facto law minister as saying in Kota Bharu, Kelantan, today that the NSC will discuss the proposal with Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and chief ministers or Menteri Besar of several states.
“A total lockdown is among the actions that the NSC needs to take into consideration, what choices we have after implementing the Movement Control Order (MCO), the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO), the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) and the like,” Takiyuddin was quoted saying.
“These are the actions that need to be taken, whether in totality or a targeted approach. There is an NSC meeting tomorrow, it may be discussed there with the prime minister, menteri besar, and chief ministers.”
The EU-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce (Eurocham), the American Malaysian Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM), and the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) have opposed the implementation of strict movement restrictions like the first MCO imposed nationwide back in March last year that shut down the economy.
The current MCO 3.0 scheduled until June 7 permits the economic sector to continue operations, barring interdistrict and interstate travel as well as dine-ins. Putrajaya did not announce any financial assistance for businesses or individuals for MCO 3.0.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) reported today 6,806 new Covid-19 cases nationwide, breaking again the country’s daily record of confirmed infections after a previous historic high with 6,075 new cases yesterday.
Today’s 6,806 new coronavirus cases according to states are as follows:
- Selangor: 2,277
- Kuala Lumpur: 655
- Johor: 615
- Sarawak: 608
- Kelantan: 426
- Kedah: 417
- Penang: 362
- Negeri Sembilan: 291
- Perak: 248
- Sabah: 245
- Terengganu: 233
- Melaka: 212
- Pahang: 157
- Putrajaya: 35
- Labuan: 17
- Perlis: 8
Malaysia has hit 492,302 total confirmed Covid-19 cases to date.
