by SHAHEERA AZNAM SHAH/ pic by ARIF KARTONO

The Movement Control Order (MCO) for Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Johor and Penang will be extended until March 4 as Covid-19 cases remain high, said Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

He said the movement restriction in other states will be replaced with Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) excluding Perlis where it will return to the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO).

“The Health Ministry has informed us that most states have started to record lower cases after two weeks of MCO implementation. The number of imported cases through interstate travel have declined since Feb 3.

“However, cases in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Johor and Penang are still high and after a risk assessment, we have decided to extend the MCO for the four states for another two weeks.

“Perlis is the only state which will undergo RMCO due to their improvement in daily new cases,” he said in a press conference today.

For Sarawak, Ismail Sabri said the state will follow the directive issued by its state government earlier, which enforced the CMCO for the state from Feb 15 to Mar 1.

Ismail Sabri said the travel limitation of 10 km for residents in MCO-imposed states will be lifted with similar passenger capacity allowed per car.

“Residents in all states, including in the MCO-imposed states are allowed to travel more than 10 km radius as more business operations have been allowed to operate. It is only relevant to let people travel,” he said.

However, Ismail Sabri added the district and state travel are still being imposed for all states.