KUALA LUMPUR: The district of Kluang in Johor will be placed under the Movement Control Order (MCO) from Tuesday (May 11) until May 24 following a surge in COVID-19 cases there, said Senior Minister (Security) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

He said the decision was taken after the Ministry of Health (MOH) confirmed that 512 positive cases were recorded from 3,867 screening tests carried out from May 4.

"Other than that, the MOH also reported there were four active clusters in the district, besides the positivity rate being at 13 per cent while the rate of infection is also increasing in several villages and housing estates.

"With the implementation of the MCO in this district, interstate and interdistrict travels are not permitted," he said in a statement today.

Elaborating, Ismail Sabri said the implementation of the MCO was, among others, to prevent the movement of members of the public, especially during the festival season and school holidays, since the community cluster was the highest recorded, so far.

“At the same time, it is aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19 within the community and preventing further infections due to group activities and social gatherings,” he said.

Ismail Sabri also announced that the government had decided to implement the Enhanced MCO (EMCO) in Kampung Keramat in Semporna, Sabah from May 11-24.

“So far, the MOH has recorded 10 COVID-19 positive cases from 101 screening tests conducted on residents in the locality. The implementation of the EMCO will facilitate the MOH to carry out early case detection as well as curb the spread of the virus to other areas outside the locality,” he said.

In another development, Ismail Sabri said patients who have an appointment with their doctors or scheduled medical treatment only need to show their appointment cards and do not require police permits.

“The government has received complaints from members of the public about having to obtain police permits for treatment or appointments at hospitals and clinics. This has burdened them, especially patients who need scheduled treatment for cancer and kidney ailments,” he said. 

Ismail Sabri also said that 493 individuals were detained for violating the standard operating procedure (SOP) yesterday, with 480 of them compounded and 13 remanded.

Among the offences were failure to record personal details or register at the entrance of premises (214 cases), not wearing face masks (84), entertainment centre activities (16), not adopting physical distancing (52) and other (127).

At the same time, 47 illegal immigrants were arrested and five land vehicles were seized under Ops Benteng, he said.

-- BERNAMA