A Malaysia Airlines hostess checking the temperature of a passenger from China before she boards a flight to Beijing, at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Kuala Lumpur. (File photo: AFP）

Bangkok (People’s Daily) - Malaysia will extend the movement control order (MCO) by two weeks until Apr 14 to contain the further spread of COVID-19, said Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin on Wednesday.

"The trend is expected to continue for awhile before we can see the number of new cases reported decline,” he said.

The Malaysian government had earlier imposed the MCO for two weeks from Mar 18 until Mar 31 to curb the spread of COVID-19.

As part of the MCO, Malaysians are barred from traveling overseas while visitors are not allowed to enter the country. It also involves the closure of all government and private premises except for those providing essential services.

All houses of worship and business premises are also closed except for supermarkets, groceries and convenience stores selling daily necessities.

As of Wednesday noon, Malaysia’s COVID-19 death toll was 17 and it reported more than 1,796 positive cases.