Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced on 11 January that the movement control order (MCO) will be reintroduced in Kuala Lumpur and five other states to curb new coronavirus outbreaks.

Kuala Lumpur empty of people due to pandemic (Source: EPA/EFE)

In a televised address, Muhyiddin said five states, including Penang, Selangor, Melaka, Johor and Sabah, and the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan will be placed under the MCO again for two weeks until 26 January.

Interstate travel is banned across the country, while travelling between districts is not allowed for the states under the MCO.

Recent four-digit daily jump in cases brought the national total to more than 138,000, with 555 deaths.

Meanwhile, on the same day, Indonesian Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin asked COVID-19 patients who have slight or no symptoms to strictly follow stay-at-home quarantine as the country’s hospitals are full.

Budi said that the country now has only 15,000 hospital beds for COVID-19 treatment, much lower than the demand of 36,000 beds, or 30 percent of the 120,000 active cases as of 10 January.

Source: VNA