Travel distance limited to 10km under MCO and 9 news from yesterday

KINI ROUNDUP | Here are key headlines you may have missed yesterday, in brief.

1. The government is limiting travel for groceries and other essentials to 10km from home, under the second phase of the movement control order.

2. Restrictions under the order are showing some early signs of success, and the number of Covid-19 cases are well below the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research’s predictions.

3. The Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy has warned against holding Ramadan bazaars this year. Selangor has called off the bazaars and is looking for alternatives, while Federal Territories Minister Annuar Musa said no decision has been made on whether Ramadan bazaars will be opened in the Federal Territories.

4. A study by a group of University of Oxford researchers has showed that Covid-19 is spreading too fast for traditional methods of contact tracing to keep up, but going digital could be effective enough to avert the need for a lockdown.

5. Selangor special Covid-19 task force chief Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad has urged the federal government to provide anonymised data to aid the state government’s response to the pandemic.

6. Following complaints of poor living conditions at a quarantine station in Sabah, Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the ministry would not recommend ‘unliveable’ facilities to be used.

7. Lawyers for Liberty has urged authorities to issue sentencing guidelines to avoid disparity in punishments for those who violate the movement control order.

8. The Selangor government has announced a pay cut for all state executive councillors, including the menteri besar, and a second economic stimulus package amounting to RM272.5 million.

9. The Social Welfare Department has issued new guidelines for NGOs distributing aid to vulnerable groups amid the Covid-19 outbreak.

10. Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has been appointed as Khazanah Nasional Bhd chairperson, replacing his predecessor Dr Mahathir Mohamad.