Malaysia went into a two-week partial lockdown on Wednesday after coronavirus infections in the country spiked to the highest in Southeast Asia with two fatalities.
More than half of the country's 673 confirmed cases, the most in Southeast Asia, were linked to an event that ran from February 27 to March 1 attended by about 16,000 people at a mosque near Kuala Lumpur.
Neighboring countries Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam and Brunei have also reported cases that could be traced back to the gathering. Vietnam on Wednesday confirmed an additional case of coronavirus linked to the mosque event, bringing its total number of cases to 67. The patient's home village was placed under lockdown for 28 days from Tuesday night.
Malaysian minister in the Prime Minister's Department of Religious Affairs Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri announced on Monday that all religious activities and Friday prayers at mosques and surau nationwide will be suspended for 10 days from March 17 to 26.
On Monday night, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced a more restricted movement order, which bars citizens from going overseas and foreigners from entering the country for about two weeks starting Wednesday to prevent the further spread of COVID-19.
As part of the order, public gatherings and movements in the whole country, including religious events, sports meets, social and cultural activities will be prohibited, except for supermarkets, grocery stores and convenience stores selling everyday necessities.
