Berita 24 English - Malaysia's government, will increase spending on COVID-19 healthcare by another 200 million ringgit ($48.3 million)...
Berita 24 English - Malaysia's government, will increase spending on COVID-19 healthcare by another 200 million ringgit ($48.3 million) to help address a recent surge in cases, the state news agency reported Saturday.
The additional funding brings the government's total healthcare allocations for the coronavirus fight to 1 billion ringgit, in addition to the 5 billion ringgit earmarked last month for vaccine procurement and distribution, the Bernama news agency reported.
Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz, Finance Minister, stated that the additional resources would be used to expand the capacity of intensive care units and provide additional beds.
"Provisions will also be increased for the upgrade of equipment, medicines, and related consumables, as well as the contracting out of medical officers, including retirees," he was quoted as saying by Bernama.
Earlier Saturday, health officials reported 6,320 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total to 505,115 for the country. Additionally, 50 deaths were reported.
The Southeast Asian country, which has a population of 32 million, reported a daily record of 6,806 new cases on Thursday, along with the highest daily death toll of 59.
Stricter movement restrictions will take effect Tuesday, limiting the hours of operation for most businesses and requiring more people to work from home, the country's defence minister announced.
Malaysia implemented a nationwide lockdown last week in advance of the festivities, prohibiting interstate and interdistrict travel, as well as social gatherings.
(1 dollar equals 4.1390 ringgit)
