KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 11 — Outdoor activities like running and exercising will be allowed in states where a two-week movement control order (MCO) will be enforced starting January 13.

Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, when announcing the second lockdown, said outdoor sporting activities are crucial to keep households positive and healthy.

However, only members from the same household will be allowed to do so, he stressed.

Physical distancing must also be strictly observed during these activities, the prime minister said.

"I realise that prolonged isolation can have an adverse effect on mental health,” Muhyiddin said in his live address.

"Therefore, you are allowed to go out for sporting activities in order to keep yourself physically and mentally healthy, but only among members from the same household,” he added.

Muhyiddin announced a fresh round of tight restrictions earlier this evening in a much-anticipated national address delivered amid growing concern over the surge of daily Covid-19 cases in recent months.

The prime minister said a second MCO is necessary to prevent the healthcare system from crashing.

The disease caused by the coronavirus Sars-CoV-2, Covid-19, was starting to overwhelm the country’s major public hospitals, 15 of which he said were already "at breaking point.”

Selangor, Penang, Melaka, Johor, Sabah and all Federal Territories will be placed under the MCO while six states will remain under the conditional movement control order (CMCO).

No interstate and inter-district travel will be allowed for all states while only essential economic sectors will be allowed to operate in states under the MCO.