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Malaysia extends movement restrictions to curb COVID-19 spread, 3,455 new cases reported

A man wearing face mask walks on a street in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Feb. 2, 2021. The Malaysian government said Tuesday that it will extend the movement control order (MCO) in force over most of the country till Feb. 18 in order to control the spread of COVID-19.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | THE INDEPENDENT |    The Malaysian government said on Tuesday that it will extend the Movement Control Order (MCO) in force over most of the country till Feb. 18 in order to control the spread of COVID-19.

Defense Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who coordinates the implementation of COVID-19 restrictions in the Asian country, told a press briefing that among the reasons for the extension are the high rates of infection in detected case clusters.

Ismail also said interstate travel is still not allowed, as a number of case clusters linked to interstate travel had been detected, but more economic activities would be opened up.

“This MCO allows the business and economic sector to operate with tightened SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures),” he said.

Meanwhile the Health Ministry reported 3,455 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the national total to 222,628.

Health Ministry Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a press statement that five of the new cases are imported and 3,450 are local transmissions.

Another 21 new deaths were reported, raising the death toll to 791.

Another 3,661 patients were newly discharged from hospitals after they recovered, bringing the total number of recoveries to 173,990, or 78.2 percent of all cases.

Of the remaining 47,847 active cases, 327 are being held in intensive care units with 145 of them in need of assisted breathing.

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