Malaysia will shutter shopping malls and most of its factories under a stringent two-week lockdown that will begin tomorrow, to stem the surge in Covid-19 infections and deaths over the past week.
People will be restricted to travelling within a 10km radius of their homes, with only two people per household allowed to venture out for essential items and services, such as groceries and medical treatment.
Senior Minister for Security Ismail Sabri Yaakob said yesterday that only 17 essential sectors will be allowed to operate during the lockdown, which will closely resemble the first shutdown imposed between March and May last year.
Economic activities that can still continue include food and beverage businesses, utilities, transport, banking and postal services. Many office workers are already working from home, while schools have remained shut since Hari Raya.
All sectors that are allowed to operate can open from 8am to 8pm.
Food and beverage businesses will continue to operate under existing restrictions, which limit them to takeaways or deliveries from 8am to 8pm.
"There is no curfew, but I hope no one will be outside after 8pm, because there will be no economic activity after that time," Datuk Seri Ismail said during the joint briefing with health chief Noor Hisham Abdullah.
Mr Ismail said that the closure of most economic sectors will reduce the number of people leaving their homes for work from 15 million to just 1.5 million.
Most factories in the manufacturing sector will be closed, except for those involved in making essential products such as food and beverages and healthcare items. However, these will be limited to operating at only 60 per cent capacity.
Factories were a key source of workplace clusters, after the government allowed them to remain open under a movement control order implemented earlier this month.
Yesterday, Mr Ismail also announced tighter controls on travel permits granted to those who cross districts and states for work, saying these will expire today. New letters will be issued for workers in the essential sectors that are allowed to operate from tomorrow.
The two-week stringent lockdown was announced by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin on Friday to battle Malaysia's deadliest surge of Covid-19 infections since the pandemic began early last year.
Malaysia on Saturday reported 9,020 new infections and 98 deaths from the coronavirus - charting record highs in both categories. Daily cases yesterday dipped slightly to 6,999 new infections, with 79 deaths, but active cases continued to climb, reaching 78,017 cases.
A total of 846 people are receiving intensive care treatment at hospitals, which the authorities have warned are strained and could soon be overwhelmed if cases continue to rise.
Tan Sri Noor Hisham had previously warned that the country might hit five-digit daily cases and log up to 13,000 daily infections by mid-June if the current infectivity rate remains.
Tan Sri Muhyiddin has promised to deliver a fiscal relief package following this lockdown, but details on this have yet to be released.
Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz previously said that a total lockdown could cost the country up to a million jobs. Mr Muhyiddin last year said that the two-month lockdown in 2020 cost the country RM2.4 billion (S$769 million) a day.
