Army patrols Malaysian streets after coronavirus spike

KUALA LUMPUR: Nearly 50,000 Malaysian troops began patrolling streets, markets, border entry points and other highly populated areas on Sunday to enforce a two-week restriction on movement after the number of coronavirus cases spiked to 1,306 across the country.
Defense Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the measure was part of the government’s efforts to enforce the Restriction of Movement Order (RMO), which includes the setting up of a special task force comprising the police and the military.
It will soon incorporate the People’s Volunteer Corps (RELA) and the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (APMM).
“Complying with the restrictions is very crucial,” Sabri told reporters at a press conference on Sunday, adding that nearly 50,000 personnel had been mobilized to “fully enforce” the RMO.
Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced the measures last Wednesday following an exponential jump in the number of infections across the country.
Sabri said: “Based on police reports, even though 90 percent of Malaysians are complying with the RMO, 10 percent (those not complying) isn’t a small number for a country of 32 million.” He added: “Many people are still unaware that the RMO has been enforced.”
Malaysia became the epicenter of the virus in the region after a mass gathering of 16,000 worshippers from Malaysia and other countries took place at the Sri Petaling Mosque in Kuala Lumpur in late February, infecting hundreds of attendees and their close contacts.
Officials say 62 percent, or 743, of the 1,306 infected patients are from the same cluster, with health authorities working round the clock to track down the rest of the attendees and screen them for the virus.

source NOR ARLENE TAN