Malaysia records new daily high of 15,902 cases

Malaysia's daily Covid-19 infections hit a new high for the second consecutive day, as it recorded 15,902 cases yesterday while nearing the tail end of a third month in lockdown.

The country is now presumably one day away from crossing the one-million mark for cumulative Covid-19 cases since the pandemic began last year, with a large portion of the infections and deaths recorded during this year's devastating third wave.

Malaysia has reported more than 990,000 cases of Covid-19 in total.

Yesterday's record daily cases were slightly higher than the 15,573 reported on Friday. Malaysia's most populous region, Klang Valley, continued to account for a large bulk of the cases.

Nearly 10,000 cases - or around 65 per cent of all infections reported yesterday - were in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, which make up Klang Valley.

There were 184 deaths nationwide, the second-highest tally after the 199 deaths last Wednesday.

The new records were logged amid reports of continued flouting of Covid-19 restrictions despite the prolonged lockdown.

On Friday, a helicopter landed at a field in Ipoh in Perak state to pick up an order of 36 packets of rice and chicken from a famous nasi ganja restaurant. The order was made from Kuala Lumpur.

Civil aviation authorities are investigating possible rule-breaking in the helicopter trip, which was believed to have involved two men picking up the orders.

Almost all of Malaysia has been in a lockdown since May 12 this year, with a majority of businesses now shuttered for a third month.

However, daily infections and deaths have only gone up, which the authorities have blamed on the most transmissible variants of concern, especially the Delta variant.

Malaysia is now relying on its ramped-up vaccination - one of the fastest in the world - to recover from the pandemic. It administered more than 500,000 doses on Thursday, a new record.

Some 16.1 per cent of Malaysia's population have been fully vaccinated, with the whole adult population expected to be vaccinated by the end of October.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin told reporters yesterday that sports and social activities will be among the privileges that the government will give to those who are fully vaccinated.

He said he will announce within the next few days a package of relaxations on restrictions for this group.

"I hope these (relaxations) can give the people a bit of room or breathing space to live a slightly better life," said Tan Sri Muhyiddin.

He added that fully vaccinated travellers arriving in Malaysia might not need to quarantine at dedicated facilities.

"They can undergo quarantine at home instead of at a hotel or a centre... They may be given a wrist tracker and will have to take a swab test before exiting quarantine," he added.

The government may also consider allowing interstate travel for long-distance couples who are fully vaccinated.

Malaysia is now under a mix of phase one and phase two of its four-stage Covid-19 exit plan, which involves lockdowns of varying degrees.

Phase three, which will see a gradual reopening of the economy, is not scheduled until the end of August.