KUALA LUMPUR, April 15 — The Ministry of Health suggested that the enhanced movement control order (EMCO) on Jalan Masjid India and its vicinity was to allow for active cases detection among high-risk groups there, said Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

"Many foreigners in that area and some have attended the mosque gathering,” Dr Noor Hisham said referring to the Sri Petaling tabligh event that is Malaysia’s largest Covid-19 cluster responsible for two in every five cases.

Malay Mail contacted Dr Noor Hisham for clarification about the lockdown that was announced during Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s daily security briefing.

The historic area of the city that is home to several banking headquarters and a light rail transit hub was put under the EMCO yesterday.

When asked if new cases have been detected since his press conference yesterday evening when he said there was none yet, Dr Noor Hisham declined to say.

"More than 565 samples taken and no results yet," he told Malay Mail, adding that findings would be released once they are ready.

Aside from commerce and transport, Jalan Masjid India is also known for its colourful bazaars that come to life during religious festivals.

It is also home to one of Kuala Lumpur’s oldest mosques, Masjid Jamek.

However, the lane is also under 200 metres away from both Malayan Mansion and Selangor Mansion that were put under EMCOs previously, and around 400 metres from Menara City One that is also under the same restrictions.

Bank Muamalat announced yesterday that it was closing its headquarters and a branch in the area as a result of the EMCO.

Yesterday, Dr Noor Hisham said Covid-19 infections at Menara City One and Malayan Mansion remained at 39 and four cases, respectively.

Selangor Mansion added one new infection to bring its total to 83.

Malaysia reported 202 recoveries against 170 new infections yesterday, giving the country a total of 4,987 confirmed Covid-19 cases, of which 2,427 are still active.

The country continues to outperform the global average for Covid-19 statistics, with a recovery rate of 49.7 per cent against the average of 23.7 per cent from all nations and a case density of 154 per million population compared to the global mean of 249 per million.