KUALA LUMPUR, April 30 — Five districts in Kedah have been put under movement control order (MCO) starting tomorrow (May 1) until May 14, Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said.

In a statement, he said that in the 14 days up to April 29, the Health Ministry confirmed that 709 active cases were recorded in all five districts after a spread of infections involving several clusters contributed to the increase in cases in the districts.

"After conducting risk assessments with various agencies in the MCO Technical Committee and on the advice of the Health Ministry, the government has agreed to implement the MCO in the five districts as stated, coming in force from May 1 to May 14, 2021,” he said.

In the same statement, Ismail added that the enhanced MCO (EMCO) has been enforced in several places across Sabah and Sarawak.

These are Kampung Skim Cocos and Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Madai in Kunak, Sabah and Kampung Sagah in Kuching, Sarawak.

All these locations will observe EMCO starting tomorrow (May 1) until May 14.

Ismail added that the EMCO at Sekolah Menengah Sains Machang in Kelantan has also been extended.

"The Health Ministry has conducted 596 Covid-19 screenings and from that, 67 were confirmed positive.”

He explained they were still waiting for the results of 356 samples from the screening.

On a positive note, Ismail also announced the end of EMCO in several places in Sabah and Sarawak.

In Sarawak, the EMCO in Taman Mesra Bako, Kuching and Kampung Tengah, Betong, comes to an end tomorrow after the Health Ministry informed that there is a downward trend in infections

In Sabah, the EMCO at three housing projects — Taman Hilltop, Taman Bukit Bintang and Taman Berkley — in Tawau will end tomorrow, as scheduled.