Malaysia and Philippines extend national lockdowns
Malaysia will extend its movement control orders (MCO) to combat the spread of Covid-19 indefinitely, until the country reaches manageable infection rates.
Originally, the nationwide lockdown was scheduled until 28 June, as the Government struggles to curb the spread of the virus; Malaysia will continue implementing restrictions until it reaches several goals, including lowering the daily infection rate and maintaining vaccination levels.
The country’s only casino, Resorts World Genting, was closed on 24 May to comply with the national lockdown, with no scheduled reopening date.
In neighbouring Philippines, the capital, Manila, and nearby regions also extended lockdowns until 15 July, although these were implemented with eased restrictions.
While the number of infections in the capital’s area is decreasing, the Bulacan and Rizal provinces will remain under general quarantine, with the Laguna and Cavite regions facing some tighter restrictions.
One of the main restrictions is the reduced indoor capacity, which limits the number of guests in venues. The country also maintains a travel ban on India, as well as Pakistan, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates and others. The Government warned that despite the improvement, the situation in the capital remains fragile.
Yet some Asian countries are already seeing signs of improvement. China’s Guangdong province and Macao are planning to extend the validity of the negative nucleic acid test (NAT) results for people who received at least one vaccine shot, as currently, it’s only 48 hours.
This could further ease travel between the regions, which is important for Macau’s market since Mainland China is one of the central sources of tourists into the city.
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