Malaysia has announced lockdown in response to a sudden increase in
COVID-19 cases. There were 190 new cases on the 15th, and 125 on the
16th of March, bringing the total number of cases to 533, said the PM of
Malaysia, Muhyiddin Yassin, in an address on the evening of 16 March.
Of these, 511 are hospitalised, and 42 have recovered.
"The
current priority of the government is to prevent the spread of this new
epidemic that will affect more people. The current situation of the
outbreak requires drastic action to be taken to recover the situation as
soon as possible," said the PM in Malay.
The country will undergo lockdown from 18 to 31 March, 2020, covering:
-
Banning of mass movements and gatherings across the country including
religious, sports, social and cultural activities. To enforce this
prohibition, all houses of worship and business premises must be closed
except for supermarkets, public markets, and convenience stores selling
everyday necessities.
- Malaysians who return from overseas must undergo a health check and quarantine themselves for 14 days.
- No tourists and foreign visitors will be allowed into Malaysia.
-
Classes will be shut down. All kindergartens, government and private
schools including boarding schools, international schools, tahfiz
centres and other primary, secondary and pre-university institutions are
to be closed. All public and private higher-education institutions (IPTs) and skills training institutes nationwide are to be closed.
-
All government and private premises except those involved in essential
services (water, electricity, energy, telecommunications, postal,
transportation, irrigation, oil, gas, fuel, lubricants, broadcasting,
finance, banking, health, pharmacy, fire, prison, port, airport, safety,
defense, cleaning, retail and food supply) are to be closed.
While
the PM acknowledged that these measures will inconvenience the general
public, he said the free spread of COVID-19 would likely endanger lives.
"We have seen a sudden increase in the incidence of COVID-19 from tens
of thousands of people infected with the virus to thousands in a short
time in some other countries. Of course, (we) do not want the same thing
to happen in our country," he said.
"We can't wait any
longer until things get worse. Drastic action should be taken
immediately to prevent the spread of the disease by limiting the
movement of the public. This is the only way we can prevent more people
from being infected by the outbreaks that can destroy lives."
Details:
Enquiries can be made at a hotline at +603 8888 2010 starting noon on the 17th.
