Malaysia yesterday ordered malls, restaurants and shops to operate shorter hours from Tuesday, as the government took several steps to suppress a spike in Covid-19 cases and deaths.

The government also wants 80 per cent of civil servants, or 750,000 people, to start working from home. The private sector has been advised to allow 40 per cent of its staff to do the same, affecting 6.1 million workers.

Businesses will be allowed to operate only from 8am to 8pm, instead of shutting at 10pm.

The new rules add to the May 12 ban on dining at restaurants and food stalls.

The announcement was made at a news conference beamed live over television by Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Ismail Sabri Yaakob and health director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah.

Malaysia joins several other places in Asia that are also battling a spike in Covid-19 infections, from Singapore and Taiwan, to Thailand and India.

Meanwhile, at the virtual G-20 health summit on Friday, coronavirus vaccine producers promised billions of doses for poorer countries, and leaders vowed to expand access to jabs as the only way to end the pandemic.

Datuk Seri Ismail said at the news conference: "The emergence of new, aggressive Covid-19 variants has contributed to the spike in cases. Therefore, stricter measures need to be put in place to contain it."

He added: "Since businesses close at 8pm, there is no need to go out. The government can impose all kinds of restrictions but ultimately, our self-discipline to quarantine ourselves matters the most."

But acceding to pressure from big corporations and small traders, which depend on daily sales of their products to survive, Mr Ismail indicated that the government would not force factories to shut or bar pasar malam (night markets) from operating.

The announcement followed concerns about the spike in Covid-19 cases and the already weak economy, which could be badly hit if a stricter movement control order (MCO) is imposed.

Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz said at a separate event that shutting down most of the economy could cause a million people to lose their jobs.

Malaysia is into the second week of a four-week MCO, but Covid-19 cases have continued to surge in recent weeks. Dubbed MCO 3.0, the ongoing curbs bar inter-state and inter-district travel.

The daily number of cases in the past four days was above 6,000, with the highest recorded on Thursday, at 6,806, along with a record 59 deaths on the same day.

Malaysia yesterday reported 6,320 cases and 50 fatalities.

The surge in cases has strained the healthcare system, including intensive care units (ICUs) designated for Covid-19 patients in hospitals around the country.

Tan Sri Noor Hisham said on Facebook yesterday that public hospitals in the Klang Valley, including Kuala Lumpur, are working at an average of 113 per cent as more patients fall critically ill.

"To cope with the increase, hospitals have had to repurpose other areas, such as normal wards, into temporary ICU by equipping beds with certain equipment," he wrote.

MCO 3.0 started on May 12, a day before Hari Raya Aidilfitri, and will last till June 7.

Malaysia imposed MCO 1.0 between March and May last year, shutting down malls, offices and most factories, and allowed only essential services like medicine halls and supermarkets to remain open.

In MCO 2.0, imposed on most states between late-January and early March this year, malls and most factories were allowed to operate.

SEE THE BIG STORY, WORLD