KUALA LUMPUR – All states in the country except Sarawak will be placed under movement control order (MCO), Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced today.
Ismail said the six new states to be placed under lockdown are Kedah, Perak, Negri Sembilan, Pahang, Terengganu and Perlis, with the order to take effect beginning midnight Friday until February 4.
The MCO for other states – Penang, Selangor, the Federal Territories (Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan), Melaka, Johor, Sabah, and Kelantan — will end on January 26, bar future extension.
Sarawak, meanwhile, remains under the more relaxed recovery MCO.
Ismail said the decision to impose the MCO on the six states was made at a special National Security Council (NSC) meeting today following advice and risk assessment conducted by the Health Ministry.
This is after the six states showed an increase in Covid-19 infections over the past two weeks.
“With today’s announcement, it means the whole country will be under MCO, bar Sarawak,” he said in a media briefing that was telecast live today.
Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had on January 11 announced that only six states will be placed under MCO, in the government’s bid to reduce Covid-19 infection rates. Kelantan was added to the list on Saturday.
Ismail said that standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the states newly included in the MCO list will be the same as in existing ones.
These include a maximum of two people in a car to get daily necessities, no dining-in at food and beverage outlets, and no interstate or inter-district travels without police permission.
Other than hospitals and clinics, which can operate 24 hours, all business operations listed under the essential services are only allowed to open from 6am to 8pm.
Earlier, Ismail said while the government has taken various measures to ensure case numbers remain under control, cooperation from the public is equally important.
“We introduced MCO in several states, and more recently, we announced an emergency proclamation nationwide.
“However, whatever the government’s actions, the most important thing is for the people to cooperate, especially in adhering to our SOPs,” he said. – The Vibes, January 19, 2021
