A full movement control order has been in place nationwide since 1 June 2021. Although it has brought some respite and an easing of the pandemic in some states, the condition has been seriously worsening recently in both the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, with both areas contributing more than 60% of the new cases in the country.
KL and Selangor’s consistent R-naught value of above 1.0 may be reflective of increasing transmission, and the increasing cases are pushing healthcare capacities in the region to a breaking point. The spread between new cases and recovered cases that started to widen early this week (July 4) was the red alert indicating healthcare systems struggling to cope with surging cases. This prompted the authority to enhance MCO in most areas in KL and Selangor from July 3 to July 16.