Malaysia reports 8,209 new coronavirus cases

On Tuesday, Malaysia began the first day of a two-week lockdown. PHOTO: THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK

KUALA LUMPUR (REUTERS) - Malaysia reported 8,209 new coronavirus cases on Thursday (June 3), bringing the total number of infections recorded in the South-East Asian country to 595,374.

On Wednesday, the country logged a record 126 fatalities and 7,703 new coronavirus cases. Malaysia, which is seeing a surge in Covid-19 infections, saw a record daily rise in cases of 9,020 on Saturday.

On Tuesday, the nation began the first day of a two-week lockdown. The full movement control order was imposed to flatten the infection curve.

Only essential economic and service sectors listed by the National Security Council were still open, including wet markets and supermarkets, which are operating on shorter hours.

The government is also trying to speed up vaccination rates.

More than 3.1 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine - the first and second doses - have been administered as at Tuesday.

The government is aiming to achieve herd immunity by inoculating 80 per cent of its population, or 26.7 million people out of the total 33 million in the country.

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