Malaysia has been under lockdown since Wednesday (Mar. 18), through Mar. 31.

Under this lockdown, mass events are cancelled, including cultural, social, sports and religious events.

All places of worship and businesses are also supposed to close, except for markets, supermarkets and shops selling sundry goods.

Malaysians are also not permitted to leave the country.

May deploy army to enforce lockdown

So far, however, only 60 per cent of the public are complying with the restrictions as of Wednesday (Mar. 18), Bloomberg reported.

This lack of compliance has prompted the authorities to implement certain measures such as setting up roadblocks to advise drivers to stay at home.

After a cabinet meeting on Mar. 19, Malaysia's Senior Minister for Defense Ismail Sabri Yaakob reportedly said that Malaysia will resort to deploying its army if the public continues to flout the two-week lockdown.

Speaking to the media, Yaakob said:

“If there is no choice, and compliance is still at 60 per cent to 70 per cent, I believe that it’s highly likely the army will be deployed."

790 cases in Malaysia

As of Mar. 18, Malaysia has 790 reported confirmed cases of Covid-19, according to CNA.

Malaysia now has the highest number of reported cases in Southeast Asia.

Local Health Director General Noor Hisham Abdullah has also confirmed that more than 500 of the 790 confirmed cases are related to the religious event that took place from Feb. 27 to Mar. 1, CNA also reported.

During this event, more than 10,000 people were believed to have gathered at a mosque near Kuala Lumpur.

Police are currently still tracking down the participants of the event.

Top photo via iStock photo.