Malaysia has decided to tighten COVID-19 prevention and control measures to prevent rising unemployment instead of reintroducing full lockdown like last year.

People wait for COVID-19 testing in Selangor state, Malaysia (Photo: Xinhua)

From May 25 to June 7, 80 percent of Malaysian public service cadres and 40 percent of employees in the private sector will work from home under the stricter Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).

The spokesperson of the National Security Council of Malaysia said the decision will affect 750,000 public service cadres and 6.1 million workers in the private sector.

To counter the virus spread, the country also decided to cut working time of several sectors. Only pharmacies are allowed to open till 10pm. Public transport vehicles only carry 50 percent of its maximum passenger capacity.

Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz said at a press conference that if the full lockdown Movement Control Order (MCO) is applied like from March 18 to May 3, 2020, 1 million people are likely to become unemployed. If 1 million lose jobs, 3 million others will be affected because a household has an average of 4 members, he added.

Source: VNA