PUTRAJAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Malaysia recorded 217 new Covid-19 cases on Friday (April 3), bringing the country's total to 3,333 confirmed infections.
There were also three more fatalities in the same 24-hour span, taking Malaysia's death toll to 53, said the Health Ministry's director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
He also said that 60 more Covid-19 patients have been discharged after recovering from the disease. Malaysia's Covid-19 recovery rate is at 24.8 per cent.
There are now 108 patients being treated in intensive care units, with 54 of them requiring ventilators.
Meanwhile, Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the popular Ramadan bazaars won't be allowed if the ongoing movement curbs are extended into the Muslim fasting month.
Malaysia's 28-day movement control order (MCO) is into its 17th day on Friday, with officials saying they haven't made a decision on whether to extend it.
The MCO's last day will be on April 14, nine days before the start of the fasting month on April 23.
The month-long Ramadan bazaars are usually held across the country during the fasting month to serve Muslims looking for food and drinks to break their fast.
Said Datuk Seri Ismail: "We have come to a decision that for as long as the MCO is in force, there will be no Ramadan bazaars.
"After that, if there is no extension to the order, the National Security Council will come up with a post-MCO standard operating procedure.
"This will, among others, determine if Ramadan bazaars can operate."
Five Malaysian states - Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Terengganu, Selangor and Kedah - have banned these annual bazaars to stop people from packing these open-air fairs amid the virus pandemic.
