On 16 February 2021, Senior Minister of Defence, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri bin Yaakob, announced that most states in Malaysia will be placed under a conditional movement control order or a recovery movement control order except for the states of Selangor, Johor and Penang, as well as the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur which remain under a movement control order.
To give effect to the foregoing, the
Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (Measures within Infected Local Areas) (Movement Control) (No. 3) Regulations 2021 (“
MCO No. 3 Regulations”), the
Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (Measures within Infected Local Areas) (Conditional Movement Control) (No. 3) Regulations 2021 (“
CMCO No. 3 Regulations”) and the
Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (Measures within Infected Local Areas) (Recovery Movement Control) (No. 2) Regulations 2021 (“
RMCO No. 2 Regulations”) were gazetted on 18 February 2021 and came into force on 19 February 2021.
This Alert provides a summary of the salient provisions of the MCO No. 3 Regulations, the CMCO No. 3 Regulations and the RMCO No. 2 Regulations.
MCO No. 3 Regulations
The MCO No. 3 Regulations apply to the states of Selangor, Johor and Penang, as well as the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur. The MCO No. 3 Regulations have effect from 19 February 2021 to 4 March 2021 (“
MCO Period”).
Prohibited activities
The following activities are prohibited during the MCO Period -
Public transport
Any land, sea or air public transport is only permitted to carry such number of passengers in accordance with the directions issued by the Director General notwithstanding the maximum capacity of the number of passengers that may be carried by the public transport.
Health examination upon arrival in Malaysia
Any citizen, permanent resident of Malaysia, expatriate or diplomatic corps, or any foreigner permitted by the Director General of Immigration, entering Malaysia from overseas may be directed to undergo health examination upon arrival in Malaysia at any point of entry, or at any other place determined by the Director General. A person who is directed as aforesaid to undergo quarantine at any place is required to wear a wristband provided by an authorised officer.
Foreign employees to undergo Covid-19 detection test
To prevent and control the spread of Covid-19 at a workplace, an authorised officer may direct any employer who employs a foreign employee to cause the foreign employee to undergo a Covid-19 detection test at the employer’s cost.
CMCO No. 3 Regulations
The CMCO No. 3 Regulations apply to the states of Kedah, Kelantan, Malacca, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Sabah, Sarawak and Terengganu, as well as the Federal Territories of Putrajaya and Labuan. Similar to the MCO No. 3 Regulations, the CMCO No. 3 Regulations have effect from 19 February 2021 to 4 March 2021 except for the state of Sarawak where the effective period is from 15 February 2021 to 1 March 2021.
The measures under the CMCO No. 3 Regulations are similar to the measures under the MCO No. 3 Regulations except for the following measures –
Control of gatherings
The CMCO No. 3 Regulations does not prohibit gatherings for religious, sports, recreational, social or cultural purposes. A person is expressly permitted to be involved in a gathering and to congregate to perform prayers at any place of worship of his religion subject to any directions issued by the Director General.
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Home quarantine after arrival in Malaysia
A person who is directed to undergo home quarantine is required to wear a wristband provided by an authorised officer.
RMCO No. 2 Regulations
The RMCO No. 2 Regulations apply to the state of Perlis and have effect from 19 February 2021 to 4 March 2021. The measures under the RMCO No. 2 Regulations are, in essence, identical to the measures under the CMCO No. 3 Regulations except that a person entering Malaysia from overseas can be directed to undergo quarantine at any place and wear a wristband provided by an authorised officer, which is similar to the MCO No. 3 Regulations.
Comments
It appears that the relaxed movement control measures under the MCO No. 3 Regulations, the CMCO No. 3 Regulations and the RMCO No. 2 Regulations are largely similar save for some minor differences. The relaxation of the restrictions may be due to the recent significant decrease in the number of new Covid-19 cases recorded. However, it remains to be seen whether this is a step in the right direction in the areas which are subjected to a movement control order where the number of new cases recorded are still relatively high.
Although many are pinning their hopes on the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccination programme in the country to aid the pandemic situation, it will be at least six to nine months before we reach the stage where ‘
herd immunity’ may come into play.
Alert prepared by Tan Wei Liang (Associate) and Tai Kean Lynn (Associate) of Skrine.