MCO extended to Feb 4 for all states except S’wak

PUTRAJAYA: The movement control order for Penang, Selangor, Melaka, Johor, Kelantan, Sabah and three Federal Territories have been extended to Feb 4 following a significant number of Covid-19 cases recorded over the past 14 days.

The MCO for these states as well as Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan which started on Jan 13 was initially set to end on Jan 26.

Meanwhile, restaurant operators can now operate until 10pm from 8pm previously. Food delivery services will also be extended.

Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the Health Ministry reported that many districts in the six states as well as in the Federal Territories were now red zones with high infectivity rate.

He said the extension would also coincide with the date of when the MCO ends in the other remaining states, except for Sarawak.

The MCO for Kedah, Perak, Negri Sembilan, Pahang, Terengganu and Perlis starts today until Feb 4 while Sarawak is currently under conditional MCO.

Detailing the situation in the affected states, Ismail Sabri said Penang recorded 2,310 cases between Jan 7 and 20 and two red zones – Barat Daya and Timur Laut districts – had the highest number of cases with 915 and 598, respectively.He said Selangor reported more than 1,000 cases daily over the past 14 days, with the districts of Klang (4,403), Petaling (3,125), Hulu Langat (2,550) and Sepang (1,203) recording the highest totals.

“Health authorities also confirmed that infectivity within the community in Melaka is high with 507 cases reported in Melaka Tengah, 144 in Jasin and 58 in Alor Gajah.

“As for Kuala Lumpur, daily cases reported remain high between 198 and 521 cases a day. The emergence of new clusters in Kuala Lumpur contributed to the spike in cases, ” he said.

Ismail Sabri said Putrajaya’s cumulative cases as of Jan 20 stood at 637, and over the past 14 days, 294 cases were reported in the federal administrative capital, while Labuan had 151 positive cases during the same period.

He added that during the period, Kelantan had 1,208 new cases, Sabah recorded 6,027 cases and Johor recorded 5,665 cases.

On food businesses, Ismail Sabri said the operating hours for restaurants and eateries had been extended to 10pm starting today.

“We have received requests from both businesses and the public to allow food outlets to operate longer hours. The National Security Council (NSC) has agreed to allow them to operate until 10pm.

“The operating hours for food delivery services have also been extended to 10pm, ” he said.

Food businesses were initially allowed to operate only between 6am and 8pm.

Ismail Sabri also said the NSC would refer to health authorities on the need for students returning to hostels to undergo Covid-19 tests, adding that currently, the policy was to require those with symptoms to go for swab tests.

“We did not make it compulsory for students sitting for exams or returning to hostels to get tested as there are costs involved and we do not want to burden parents.

“The Health Ministry is of the view that screening is not required for all students but only those with symptoms.

“However, since there are incidents reported, I will refer the matter to the ministry, ” he said on incidents where students returning to hostels were found to be Covid-19 positive.

It was reported that Lipis Mara Junior Science College students sitting for Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia had to be quarantined after a candidate tested positive for the coronavirus.