PUTRAJAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Malaysia reported 68 more Covid-19 cases on Friday (May 8), bringing the total number of Covid-19 infections in the country to 6,535.

Four are imported cases, while the rest are local transmissions, health director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah said at his ministry's daily Covid-19 media briefing.

Of the 64 local cases, 57 involve foreigners.

There are currently 17 patients being treated at intensive care units (ICU), with seven on ventilator support.

Malaysia also discharged 88 more patients in the same 24-hour span, which means 4,864 patients have recovered from Covid-19 in Malaysia since the outbreak began.

Malaysia's Covid-19 recovery rate is now at 74.43 per cent out of the total number of positive cases.

There are 1,564 active cases being treated at the country's health facilities at present.

There no new deaths reported, so the country's death toll remains at 107.

Meanwhile, two Malaysian states which had initially rebuffed the federal government's call to reopen more sectors of the economy from Monday (May 4), said they are moving to reopen more sectors.

The easing to the movement control order (MCO), which Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin calls "conditional MCO", has seen the reopening of most shops in malls, and commercial enterprises while adopting healthcare precautions. But mass gatherings are still banned including for religious services, while cinemas, concerts and theme parks are not allowed.

Nine of Malaysia's 13 states initially said they would continue to maintain the partial lockdown, which is into its 52nd day on Friday.

In Sabah, Chief Minister Shafie Apdal said on Friday that the construction and forestry sectors can begin operations in the state immediately.

Construction and maintenance companies, and companies related to the industry's network have been given the go-ahead from Friday (May 8) as Sabah slowly opens up the economy again.

He said the works allowed included building and infrastructure construction, public amenities and landscape works, among others.

Other activities allowed are maintenance for buildings and infrastructure repairs, landscape, grass cutting and drain cleaning, among others, he said.

In Pahang state, Menteri Besar Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail said it has agreed to implement the conditional MCO after reviewing, fine-tuning and making modifications to the relevant standard operating procedures.

Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy said the main concern was enforcement, which would be enhanced by the related agencies, including local authorities.

"This is to ensure that public health is maintained when the economy and certain public sectors are reopened as stipulated under the conditional MCO," he said in a statement on Friday (May 8).