Malaysia Extends Measures to Curb Pandemic Until Year-End
Malaysia Extends Measures to Curb Pandemic Until Year-End
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Malaysia has decided to extend measures aimed at curbing the spread of coronavirus infections until the end of the year.
The government continues to require the use of face masks in public spaces while places where social distancing is difficult to uphold, including nightclubs and theme parks, will remain shut, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said in a televised speech on Friday. Foreign tourists are still barred from entry, he added.
“Our country is still facing a difficult challenge in handling the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic considering this virus is still actively spreading across the world,” Muhyiddin said.
Malaysia has so far avoided major resurgences seen elsewhere in the world, adding fewer than a dozen new cases each day for the past two weeks. Still, the health ministry remains wary as new clusters continue to emerge.
The government has largely eased lockdown measures first imposed in March, which involved ordering nearly all businesses to shut and limiting people’s movements. That led the economy to contract by the most since the Asian financial crisis. Most industries have since been allowed to reopen from early May, and the measures were further eased in June.
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