Malaysia bans inter-state travel, shuts malls listed as possible virus hot spots

Malaysia has banned all inter-district and inter-state travel from today, after closing high-risk premises including major malls yesterday as it battles a surge of Covid-19 cases threatening to overwhelm its healthcare system.

Initially implemented only in areas under the strict movement control order, the inter-district travel ban will apply nationwide from today until June 6.

Senior Minister for Security Ismail Sabri Yaakob said such travel will be allowed only with police permission, while social functions by the public and private sectors are also banned during this period.

This is the first time that inter-district travel curbs and a ban on gatherings have been imposed nationwide since March last year.

The new measures come at a time when the Health Ministry is struggling with a record number of critically ill Covid-19 patients, with some hospitals and intensive care units (ICUs) reaching full capacity.

As at yesterday, there were 37,060 active cases and 416 cases in ICU - the highest so far. A total of 26 deaths were recorded, the highest seen in a day.

Datuk Seri Ismail also announced a three-day closure of premises flagged as potential Covid-19 hot spots by a new data-driven system known as Hotspots Identification for Dynamic Engagement (Hide).

Among the places closed for sanitisation are malls such as Suria KLCC, Pavilion, Mid Valley Megamall and Sunway Pyramid.

There was confusion on Saturday as directives issued by the National Security Council kept changing.

"In the morning, we were telling our retailers, 'All okay, no need to close'. Then at 8pm, we told them they need to close immediately. At 11.30pm, we told them they will close from May 10. Then at midnight, we had to ask them to revert to the original plan of closing immediately. Who wouldn't get angry at all these sudden changes?" a source who works in the mall industry told The Straits Times.

In a joint statement, the Malaysia Shopping Malls Association, Malaysia Retailers Association, Malaysia Retail Chain Association and Bumiputra Retailers Organisation said: "We believe that in view of the inaccurate information on the hot spots listing, this call to close for sanitisation is premature and will cause irreversible damage to perception, business recovery and survival."

Democratic Action Party MP Kelvin Yii said in a statement yesterday: "Such last-minute announcements are not only a huge inconvenience to the public, but what is more important is that without proper explanation of the science and data behind such a decision, it is oppressive and irresponsible towards business owners affected, especially when they are already struggling to stay afloat.

"To make things worse, the conflicting announcements by different ministers on the same issue on the same day itself speak volumes of how the government has probably lost control or has no clue how to deal with this pandemic."

Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin had said earlier on Saturday that the list of locations released under Hide were not confirmed Covid-19 clusters, and that such premises do not need to close, except when directed to by the authorities.

But in the evening, Mr Ismail ordered all those listed under Hide to be closed immediately, contradicting Mr Khairy's statement.

Mr Yii also asked why malls were ordered to close while factories or workplaces - which accounted for 48.06 per cent of all cases - could remain open.

After a public backlash last Friday, the government also said non-contact outdoor sports such as jogging would be allowed, just a day after banning all sports.