MCO enforced at Kluang, Johor, and EMCO at Kampung Keramat in Semporna on May 11-24

by AZREEN HANI / pic by ARIF KARTONO

MALAYSIA recorded the highest number of daily deaths yesterday with 26 cases.

The highest number of fatalities previously was 25, recorded both on Saturday and on Feb 18, 2021. This brought the number of cumulative deaths in Malaysia to 1,683.

Health DG Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a statement yesterday that the number of patients currently being treated in the intensive care unit (ICU) also rose to 416. Of this figure, up to 216 patients are being intubated.

There are 37,060 active cases currently being treated in the country. However, 3,211 patients have recovered and discharged from the hospital, pushing the total number of recoveries to 401,934 cases.

The Malaysian Reserve earlier reported that Malaysia detected 3,733 Covid-19 cases as of noon yesterday, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 440,677.

Selangor remained recording the highest number of infections with 1,278 cases, followed by Sarawak (454), Johor (365), Kuala Lumpur (338), Pulau Pinang (280) and Kelantan (254). Negri Sembilan also saw its infections rose to 205 cases yesterday.

Meanwhile, Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said individuals who have hospital or doctor’s appointment do not need to apply for travel permission from the police.

Ismail Sabri said they are only required to show the appointment card to the authority during travel, should the need arise.

The National Security Council also agreed to enforce the Movement Control Order (MCO) at Kluang, Johor, from May 11 until May 24. He said since May 4 until May 8, the Ministry of Health (MoH) has detected 512 positive cases out of a total of 3,867 screening tests conducted.

In addition, MoH also reported that there are four active clusters in this district, where the positivity rate is 13%, while the rates are also increasing in some villages and residential areas.

Similarly, the government will also implement the Enhanced MCO (EMCO) at Kampung Keramat in Semporna, Sabah, from May 11 until May 24. To date, the MoH has recorded 10 positive Covid-19 cases from 101 screening tests conducted.

“MoH also reported a significant increase in the number of cases, while the people’s compliance with the SOP in the locality is still low,” the minister added.

He said 493 individuals were detained on Saturday for violating MCO regulations. Of that number, a total of 480 individuals were compounded, while 13 more were remanded.

“The government has ordered the Royal Malaysian Police to improve the monitoring of SOP compliance in the state and hotspot areas identified under the HIDE (Hotspots Identification for Dynamic Engagement) system,” Ismail Sabri said.

“Enforcement measures by enforcement agencies and others will also be enhanced in the areas.”