More stringent measures to be announced tomorrow to battle Covid surge

 

Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob will announce tighter Covid-19 restrictions at a press conference tomorrow, following a highly anticipated National Security Council meeting today.

“The meeting has unanimously agreed to further tighten the implementation of the movement control order 3.0 that is currently in force by tightening restrictions of economic and social sectors,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement today.

It said Ismail Sabri will be detailing these restrictions at his upcoming press conference.

Under the present restrictions in force since May 12, the PMO said the government has imposed restrictions on interdistrict and interstate travel, as well as social activities, sports, recreations, and face-to-face meetings and conferences.

“Despite this, the spread (of Covid-19) in the community is increasing, and the appearance of new variants that are more aggressive and more infectious have caused efforts to flatten the curve to take more time,” the PMO said.

The PMO said the NSC meeting today also involved input from state governments to account for the pandemic situation in each state and their views on efforts to prevent the spread of the disease.

The outcome of the NSC meeting today is hotly anticipated because the council chaired by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin is expected to discuss the possibility of imposing a full-scale MCO akin the one implemented on March 18 last year.

This as the country continues to record new highs in the number of daily positive Covid-19 cases and deaths, prompting calls for Putrajaya to impose a full MCO similar to the one imposed at the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak last year.

The current order - dubbed MCO 3.0 - is more lenient than the first one, where all activities were put on hold except for essential services.

This prompted calls from certain quarters including the Health Ministry for a full MCO, particularly in Selangor due to the high number of cases in the state. - Mkini