KUALA LUMPUR, May 11 — Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the "three or four weeks” period of movement control order (MCO) 3.0 will allow the Health Ministry (MOH) to add more beds in Intensive Care Units (ICU) nationwide.

Dr Noor Hisham when answering a question as to why MCO 3.0 is needed after the country had already declared an Emergency in March, said MOH needs time to ensure more capacity in hospitals if the Covid-19 situation worsens.

"Currently we have 734 beds in the ICU but the usage is now almost reaching 500.

"We expect that if the case continues to rise, we need 1,700 or more beds. So we are looking to add the numbers (of beds),” he said in a press conference today.

Last week, Dr Noor Hisham said the situation for hospitals in the Klang Valley is reaching a critical stage, as five hospitals in the Klang Valley have passed their 70 per cent capacity for Covid-19 patients.

Today, Penang chief minister Chow Kon Yeow announced that the use of Covid-19 beds in ICU wards in Penang has reached 100 per cent while for non-ICUs it has exceeded 70 per cent.

Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin yesterday announced MCO 3.0 nationwide starting tomorrow until June 7, as the numbers of new Covid-19 cases in the country continue to hover near 4,000 new cases a day.

Dr Noor Hisham earlier announced 3,973 cases today and 22 deaths.