COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

The COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia was a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). As of 10 February 2023, with over 5 million confirmed COVID-19 cases, a high of approximately 323,000 active cases, nearly 40,000 deaths, and over 66 million tests, the country is currently ranked third in the number of COVID-19 cases in Southeast Asia behind Vietnam and Indonesia, and fourth in the number of COVID-19 deaths in Southeast Asia behind Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. Since January 2020, the medical response and preparedness for the outbreak in Malaysia are overseen by the Director-General of Health Noor Hisham Abdullah under the Health Ministry of four successive governments led by the Mahathir, Muhyiddin, Ismail Sabri and Anwar Ibrahim cabinets. The first cases in Malaysia were confirmed among travellers from China in Johor via Singapore on 25 January 2020, and continued to be limited to a few imported cases until March 2020, when several local clusters emerged. The most notable was a Tablighi Jamaat religious gathering in Sri Petaling, Kuala Lumpur that sparked a massive spike in local cases and imported cases to neighbouring countries. By the end of March, the total number of cases had risen from below 30 to over 2,000 active cases across every state and federal territory in the country. In response to the surge of cases in March 2020, the Malaysian government led by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin imposed a nationwide lockdown known as the Movement Control Order (MCO), which came into effect on 18 March 2020. The MCO, which was supposed to be ended on 31 March 2020, was extended to early May 2020. By early May, the MCO had led to a gradual decline in daily infections. The government progressively relaxed lockdown restrictions in a staggered phase; beginning with the "Conditional Movement Control Order" (CMCO) on 4 May 2020, which allows most business sectors to be reopened under strict standard operating procedures (SOPs), followed by the "Recovery Movement Control Order" (RMCO) on 10 June 2020. The government had planned to end the RMCO on 31 August 2020 but due to the continuous detection of imported cases, measures were extended until the end of the year, with several sectors remaining closed and strict travel restrictions from several countries remaining in place. The third wave of COVID-19 infections in the country occurred as a result of the Sabah state election in September 2020 and several outbreaks at Top Glove facilities in late 2020. The Malaysian government responded by restoring CMCO restrictions in most states since November 2020 to counter the outbreak. By mid-January 2021, the pressure of COVID-19 on the country's healthcare system led to the reintroduction of MCO restrictions across various Malaysian states and federal territories, which was extended to March 4, 2021. A nationwide state of emergency was also declared on 12 January 2021 by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, suspending Parliament and State Legislative assemblies and granting the Muhyiddin government emergency powers until 1 August 2021. Due to a decline in new cases by early March 2021, the government lifted MCO restrictions in all states and federal territories. However, the restrictions were reinstated in several states in mid-April as infection cases rose again. With novel SARS-CoV-2 variants detected in Malaysia and a record surge in daily COVID-19 cases and deaths, the government reintroduced a nationwide MCO once more from May 12, 2021. The MCO was strengthened into a "total lockdown" from June 1 that was extended indefinitely, as the severe and continued spread of the Delta variant led to Malaysia's healthcare system capacity being reached in some regions. Following high vaccination rates in the adult population against COVID-19 and a decrease in the number of severe cases of the disease since September 2021, Malaysia announced its intention to transition to treating COVID-19 as an endemic disease by the end of October 2021, with more generalised restrictions being eased. A fifth wave fueled by the Omicron variant led to record daily cases in February and March 2022, but was marked by lower numbers of hospitalizations and deaths than during the spread of the Delta variant. As of March 2022, the BA.2 Omicron subvariant was projected to be the dominant strain in the country. The pandemic has had a severe economic impact, devaluing Malaysia's currency and shrinking its GDP, and has had far-reaching effects on Malaysian society. The onset of the pandemic in early 2020 coincided with an initially unrelated political crisis that hampered the government's early response, and the repeated COVID-19 waves and emergency measures exacerbated ongoing political instability throughout 2020 and 2021. This led to Muhyiddin's resignation following the collapse of his government, and the appointment of a successor government under Ismail Sabri Yaakob, in August 2021. The country's vaccination programme, which commenced in late February 2021, has fully inoculated over 80% of the population and 97% of adults as of 24 April 2022.