Malaysia Eases Covid Restrictions in Eight Northern States 

KUALA LUMPUR:  Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced on Monday the lifting of restrictions only for fully vaccinated people in eight northern states of Malaysia.

However, restrictions for the capital, Kuala Lumpur, and its surrounding has yet been announced, according to the statement issued by the Prime Minister’s office.

The Malaysian prime minister has said that food and outdoor restrictions on restaurants will be lifted from Tuesday.  He added that other restrictions, including individual sports activities, would be lifted.

The lockdown has been in effect in Malaysia since June 1 due to a growing number of cases of coronavirus.

Malaysia recorded a fresh high of 360 single-day death toll from Covid-19 on Sunday, bringing the total deaths to 10,749, according to the Health Ministry.

Health Ministry Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a press statement that another 18,688 new Covid-19 infections were reported, of which 10 are imported and 18,678 are local transmissions, bringing the national total to 1,262,540.

Some 17,055 patients have been released after recovery, bringing the total number of cured and discharged to 1,026,398 or 81.3 percent of all cases.

Of the remaining 225,393 active cases, 1,095 are being held in intensive care units and 571 of those are in need of assisted breathing.

According to earlier statement, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced the lifting of certain restrictions for those who are fully vaccinated for parts of the country. These include being allowed to dine in, certain non-contact sporting activities, inter-district travel, and Malaysian citizens and non-citizens returning from overseas will be allowed to home quarantine, he said in a televised speech.-Xinhua