KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin on Monday announced a nationwide travel ban and a 14-day lockdown in the capital and five states, as the country grapples with a surge in coronavirus cases that threaten to overload its healthcare system.
Malaysia was among the first nations to impose strict movement curbs in March during the early stages of the pandemic, which helped keep transmission down but led to its first economic contraction in a decade in the second quarter.
Health officials say the current wave of infections that started in September could see daily cases grow to as many as 8,000 by May if strict curbs are not imposed.
"Our healthcare system is at a breaking point," Muhyiddin said in a live televised address.
The number of new daily infections breached the 3,000 mark for the first time last week, while total coronavirus cases passed 138,000 on Monday, with 555 deaths overall.
The lockdown in the capital Kuala Lumpur and five states, which takes effect at midnight on Wednesday, will bar all social activities and interstate travel nationwide.
Muhyiddin said businesses in five essential economic sectors can operate — factories and manufacturing, construction, services, trade and distribution and plantations and commodities sectors —but at reduced capacity.
Supermarkets, banks and health clinics can remain open, while restaurants can offer only take-out services.
To build herd immunity, Malaysia aims to vaccinate 70% of its population of about 32 million.
The first batch of vaccines jointly from Pfizer and BioNTech, which Malaysian regulators have just approved, are expected to arrive by the end of February, Muhyiddin said.
Earlier on Monday, Malaysia announced the purchase of 12.2 million more doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, on top of 12.8 million already secured.
It has also booked supplies from AstraZeneca and via the Covax facility, and is in discussions with China's Sinovac and CanSino and Russia's Gamaleya institute for additional supply.
Meanwhile, the office of Muhyiddin, who is grappling with discontent in his ruling coalition, denied on Monday that he was undergoing treatment for cancer.
Muhyiddin was declared free of cancer in June after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2018.
His premiership has been occupied with managing the coronavirus pandemic, with cases surging past 135,000 total infections including 551 deaths as of Sunday.
"Rumours saying that the prime minister requires treatment for cancer are not true and are ill intentioned," Muhyiddin's office said in a statement.
Muhyiddin took office in March and has remained in power with a slim parliamentary majority, but faces increasing pressure from the United Malays National Organisation (Umno) former ruling party, the largest bloc in his ruling pact and whose leaders are unhappy playing second fiddle to the premier's smaller Bersatu party.
One UMNO lawmaker declared on Saturday would no longer support the government, potentially leaving Muhyiddin with a hung parliament.
Local media on Monday also reported that Muhyiddin would appoint a deputy prime minister from UMNO in a bid to stop more of their lawmakers from abandoning his coalition.
His office denied the reports.
