PUTRAJAYA is expected to announce tonight whether the recovery movement-control order (RMCO) is extended beyond August 31.

This is following recommendations by the Health Ministry that it be extended to aid government efforts to contain a resurgence of the coronavirus.

The announcement will be made by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin in a special televised address at 8pm according to a message to the media.

The RMCO, which allowed almost all business and social activities to resume under strict guidelines was announced in June and was to replace the conditional movement-control order (CMCO).

The RCMO was intended to restart the economy’s recovery after being shut down for eight weeks under the movement-control order (MCO), which started on March 18 to battle coronavirus infections in Malaysia.

The MCO had shut schools, offices and almost all businesses leading to a 17% decrease in Malaysia’s gross domestic product in the second quarter of this year.

Business shutdowns had also resulted in the loss of more than 800,000 jobs.

Yet, despite strict physical-distancing regulations, Malaysia continues to record new infections every day, mostly from citizens returning abroad, and the number of active cases stands at 127 as of yesterday.

Health Minister Dr Adham Baba had said that the recommendation to extend the RMCO was based on World Health Organisation projections that the pandemic will last for another two years.

Malaysia’s total Covid-19 tally stands at 9,296 infections while 8,994 individuals have recovered. There have been 125 deaths. – August 28, 2020.