KUALA LUMPUR: Several districts and subdistricts in Pahang, Penang and Perak will be placed under Movement Control Order (MCO) for two weeks to curb the spread of Covid-19.
In Pahang, Kuantan will be placed under MCO from May 10 after 1,578 Covid-19 cases were detected by Health Ministry with high infectivity until yesterday.
Senior Minister (Security) cluster Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the Health Ministry also detected an increase in sporadic coronavirus cases with 10 active clusters.
"After a risk assessment conducted with various agencies in the MCO technical committee and on the advice of the Health Ministry, the government has agreed to impose MCO there from May 10 until May 23.
"Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are the same as announced before," he said in a statement today.
In Penang, three districts namely northeast on the island, Seberang Perai Tengah and Seberang Perai Selatan, while three subdistricts at Mukim 12 in the southwest of the island, Butterworth in Seberang Perai Utara and Mukim 14 in Seberang Perai Utara, will also be placed under MCO for two weeks beginning Monday.
Ismail Sabri said Health Ministry found 14 active Covid-19 clusters with a spike in cases in the said locations hence the government will impose MCO from May 10 to May 23 to control the spread of the pandemic.
"Inter-district and interstate travels are prohibited with MCO being enforced here. The same goes with the movement between the three sub-districts which are also prohibited," he said.
MCO will also be enforced in the sub-district of Hulu Kinta which covers Ipoh, Lahat, Chemor and Tanjong Rambutan, in Perak beginning Monday.
Ismail Sabri said the Health Ministry detected a significant spike in Covid-19 cases during the 17th epid week with 176 positive cases reported from 1,185 individuals screened with 14.85 per cent of positive rate.
"The MCO here between May 10 to May 23 is to prevent the coronavirus to spread outside of these areas," he added.
Two more sub-districts in Perak will also be placed under MCO - Pengkalan Hulu and Belukar Semang located in Hulu Perak district.
He said two institutions in Pengkalan Hulu reported a spike in Covid-19 cases with a high positivity rate.
After a risk assessment conducted with various agencies in the MCO technical committee and on the advice of the Health Ministry, he announced that the government had agreed to impose MCO in the two Perak sub-districts from May 10 until May 23.
"The MCO will help the Health Ministry to carry out subsequent control measures to curb the spread of infection," he added.