In Malaysia, the Ministry of Health has proposed prohibiting trips between states throughout the Eid-al-Fitr celebration season, the state news agency Bernama reported on Thursday, as the number of COVID-19 infections in the country jumped to a five-week record.
Muslim-majority Malaysia gradually eased its coronavirus restrictions. It kickstarted its biggest-ever national vaccination program in February, even though the government has not yet decided to allow inter-state travel ahead of the Eid Festival on May 13. The Southeast Asian nation has seen a surge in the case in recent weeks.
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According to the local media reports, the Asian nation reported a whopping 2,148 new coronavirus infections on Thursday, the highest daily increase since March 5. “When the everyday case is still up and not stable, the inter-country trip needs to be postponed,” Minister of Health Adham Baba was quoted by the state news agency.
Separately, the Director-General of Health Noor Hisham Abdullah said that the health authorities had also identified two cases of very contagious coronavirus variant first detected in the United Kingdom and later it spread through Europe and the world.
The variant, also known as B.1.1.7, was found in two Malaysians who had traveled to Poland last month and tested positive respiratory disease on their return on March 30, said Noor Hisham. The latest cases brought the total number of infections involving a variant detected in Malaysia to five, he said. Since the early days of the outbreak, Malaysia has reported as many as 367,977 confirmed coronavirus cases, with more than 1,363 fatalities.
Meanwhile, another Asian country, India, has also recorded a sharp surge in coronavirus infections in recent weeks amid farmers’ protests and political roadshows during the election season in some states.
