MALAYSIA TO IMPOSE “TOTAL LOCKDOWN” AS DAILY COVID-19 CASES BREACH 8,000

Fri 28 May 2021:

The Malaysian government on Friday announced a two-week “total lockdown” to halt all economic and social activities from June 1 in a bid to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

The announcement came as Malaysia reported a record high of 8,290 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, bringing the national total to 549,514.

Muhyiddin said the stricter lockdown from June 1 to 14 was for all social and economic areas, and that only essential services and economic sectors would remain in operation, which would be listed by the national security council.

The COVID-19 spread in the Southeast Asian nation in recent weeks has been more severe, partly due to highly transmissible coronavirus variants. Hospitals are also strained.

“With the latest rise in daily cases showing a drastically upward trend, hospital capacity across the country to treat COVID-19 patients are becoming limited,” Muhyiddin said in a statement.

Malaysia has started its COVID-19 inoculation drive, though critics say the rollout has been slow. About 1.7 million people have received at least one dose of a vaccine as of Thursday.

Malaysia is also under a state of emergency since January to curb the spread of the virus, suspending parliament and essentially putting an end to political activities amid a power struggle.

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