Malaysia goes under full lockdown again from Tuesday

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia will be placed under a full lockdown for two weeks starting June 1, the Prime Minister's Office announced on Friday (May 28) evening.

The announcement comes hours after the country notched an all-time record of 8,290 new daily Covid-19 cases.

Friday also marked the fourth straight day that Malaysia continued to log a record-breaking number of Covid-19 cases.

The sharp rise in cases had, among others, previously been attributed to breaches of standard operating procedure in place to stem infection, during the recent Hari Raya Aidilifitri holiday period.

The Health Ministry has recorded no less than 24 Hari Raya Aidilfitri-linked clusters as of Thursday.

Tumpat, Kelantan has the highest number of Covid-19 cases related to the Aidilfitri celebration with 224 cases.

On Thursday, Health Minister Adham Baba had sounded a caution over the meteoric rise in cases, saying that hospitals and low-risk quarantine facilities have already reached 75 per cent capacity.

He said a total of 9,689 beds in hospitals and 25,605 beds in the low-risk centres were already taken up.

In states such as Selangor, Kelantan, Johor and Terengganu where the infections hit the hardest, hospitals had repurposed non-Covid-19 wards to add beds for patients who need treatment including intensive care.

Health Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah had on Friday said that the occupancy rate of intensive care units nationwide stands at over 91 per cent. NEW STRAITS TIMES