Inter-district travel ban extended throughout the country

Editor's note: Corrected paragraph 12. Golf exemption rule has been reversed on May 8, as pointed out by readers.

The inter-district travel ban has now been extended throughout the country for four weeks beginning May 10 until June 6.

The government has also banned all social activities and all other non-essential activities which could result in a crowd during the same period.

At face value, this blurs the line between movement control order areas (MCO) and conditional MCO areas.

The most notable difference, come May 10, is that conditional MCO areas have fewer restrictions on the type of business that are allowed to operate.

For example, cinemas cannot operate in MCO areas.

As of today, inter-district travel curbs are only imposed on regions where an MCO is imposed.

Senior Minister (security cluster) Ismail Sabri Yaakob said inter-district and inter-state travel will only be allowed with police permission.

However, a Defence Ministry officer clarified that those who cross state lines for work only need to produce a letter from their company.

Ismail said the public and private sector are also not allowed to hold in-person official or social events.

Both curbs on travel and in-person events will be subject to a review after two weeks of their imposition, he said.

This is the first time inter-district travel curbs and a ban on gatherings have been imposed simultaneously nationwide since March last year.

However, most forms of economic activities are allowed to resume operations in MCO areas.

The new curbs come at a time when the Health Ministry is struggling with a record number of Covid-19 patients in intensive care as some hospitals have already reached full capacity.

The government is also experimenting with a new early warning system known as the Hotspot Identification for Dynamic Engagement (Hide).

Some 100 premises were flagged on Hide today including a number of well-known malls in the Klang Valley.

They will be forced to close for three days beginning tomorrow.

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