KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 22 — One village each in Sabah and Sarawak will be put under the enhanced movement control order (EMCO) due to spikes in Covid-19 cases, said Senior Defence Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob today.

In Sarawak, Kampung Emperoh Jambu, Padawan will be locked down as after the Ministry of Health (MOH) detected 60 Covid-19 cases there, which public health officials considered very high for the location.

"The implementation of the EMCO is to assist the MOH in conducting targeted screenings of over 1,215 people as well as limiting movement and infections within the community,’’ ismail said in a statement today.

For Sabah, authorities will place the EMCO on Kampung Tanah Merah, Kota Marudu as 57 people tested positive for Covid-19 from 226 screened.

For both areas, the EMCO will run from February 23 to March 8.

Ismail also said the authorities arrested 509 people yesterday for various MCO-related violations, with 466 issued compound notices, 39 remanded and four released on police bail.

Unauthorised inter-district and inter-state travel still topped the list of offences, contributing 120 of the total cases yesterday.