Malaysia is set to begin its third nationwide lockdown following its deadliest week on record since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced that the entire country will be placed under movement control order (MCO) restrictions from May 12 to June 7 during a televised address on Monday.
“There are now Covid-19 variants that are more infectious while the capacity of the public health system is becoming more critical. There are also weaknesses in Covid-19 protocol compliance by some. These factors demand that the government take drastic action,” said the premier, who in March had previously ruled out imposing a third MCO.
Health experts say inadequate early detection testing is to blame for the surge of increasingly severe coronavirus cases nationwide, which has intensive care units (ICU) across the country at full or near-capacity, a situation that threatens to tilt towards an India-like health crisis.
The country’s most recent seven-week lockdown, enacted from January to March to combat a deadly third wave that began last year, saw daily cases initially taper down but then surge again by early April. The disease’s effective reproduction number (Rt) has been above 1.0 for more than a month consecutively, pointing to exponential recent growth.
“There are now Covid-19 variants that are more infectious while the capacity of the public health system is becoming more critical. There are also weaknesses in Covid-19 protocol compliance by some. These factors demand that the government take drastic action,” said the premier, who in March had previously ruled out imposing a third MCO.
Health experts say inadequate early detection testing is to blame for the surge of increasingly severe coronavirus cases nationwide, which has intensive care units (ICU) across the country at full or near-capacity, a situation that threatens to tilt towards an India-like health crisis.
The country’s most recent seven-week lockdown, enacted from January to March to combat a deadly third wave that began last year, saw daily cases initially taper down but then surge again by early April. The disease’s effective reproduction number (Rt) has been above 1.0 for more than a month consecutively, pointing to exponential recent growth.
Read the full story at Asia Times.
Nile Bowie is a journalist and correspondent with the Asia Times covering current affairs in Singapore and Malaysia. He can be reached at nilebowie@gmail.com.
