Malaysia reports 6,999 new COVID-19 cases, down more than 2,000 from previous day
People queue outside a supermarket in Gelugor, Penang, after a "total lockdown" was announced in Malaysia on May 28, 2021.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia reported 6,999 new coronavirus cases on Sunday (May 30), bringing the total infections in the country to 565,533.
The daily figure was down from Saturday's 9,020 cases, the fifth straight record rise in COVID-19 infections in Malaysia.
On Friday, Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced a nationwide "total lockdown" starting in June as infections in the country surged to record levels.
Mr Muhyiddin said the stricter lockdown from Jun 1 to Jun 14 was for all social and economic areas. Only essential services and economic sectors listed by the national security council will remain operating.
Â
READ:Â Malaysia to enter 'total lockdown' from Jun 1 to Jun 14 as daily number of COVID-19 cases hits new record
Malaysia has seen a surge in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks partly due to highly transmissible coronavirus variants. Hospitals are also strained.
As of Friday, about 1.5 million people in Malaysia have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. The government is aiming to achieve herd immunity among the country's 32 million people by the end of the year.
Science Minister Khairy Jamaluddin told a virtual news briefing on Sunday that the government will set up another five mega vaccination centres around the capital, Kuala Lumpur, and are considering two in the northen state of Penang and in the southern state of Johor.
The government will also train general practitioners to administer COVID-19 vaccines, he said, noting some vaccines need to be handled and stored differently than usual vaccines.
"Before this, there was no need (to involve the private healthcare sector) because the vaccine supply was not a lot. As the supply increases, we want to facilitate private clinics, (general practitioner) clinics, private hospitals to roll out the vaccines via our programme, for free," he said.
The private vaccination centres could administer a total of 40,000 doses a day, he said, adding that the government aims to raise daily vaccinations to 150,000 doses. It has reached 107,000 doses a day this week.
Khairy said the government is also looking to allow drive-through vaccination centres in the country, after guidelines are firmed up.
BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic and its developments
Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram
