MCO extended again, and 9 news from yesterday

KINI ROUNDUP | Key headlines you may have missed yesterday, in brief.

1. The movement control order (MCO) has been extended a second time by another two weeks until April 28, totalling 42 days.

2. The International Trade and Industry Ministry (Miti) will begin accepting applications on Monday that would allow some industries such as barber shops, social health services, and car workshops to operate with some conditions.

3. Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the movement control order has proven to be effective in reducing Covid-19’s infectivity, which is expected to fall below levels needed to sustain an epidemic by April 14.

4. Nevertheless, the World Bank predicts Covid-19 would put a significant dent in Malaysia’s economy, while most who managed to work from home find difficulty in doing so.

5. The global Covid-19 death toll has exceeded 100,000, with over 1.6 million cases reported worldwide. Malaysia has reported three new deaths, taking the total to 70.

6. A tap that was left open has caused latex to spill into Sungai Meru, prompting Environment Minister Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man to remind factories operating under the MCO to ensure pollution is kept in check.

7. Social Welfare Department denied allegations that the distribution of food to the poor was halted due to political interference, but Kulai MP Teo Nie Ching continued to question why food distribution was stopped before it could be completed.

8. The Malaysian Armed Forces denied its troops were forced to don helmets after some Selangor Mansion residents pelted them with urine-filled bags, but Kuala Lumpur police chief Mazlan Lazim said the police has received reports of hard objects being thrown instead.

9. Nearly 200 poets from 14 countries will be joining an online poetry-reading tomorrow dedicated to frontliners battling Covid-19 in Malaysia.

10. Christians in Malaysia and other parts of the world celebrated Good Friday online instead of the usual church masses, due to the Covid-19 pandemic and restrictions on mass gatherings.

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