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The Johor state government says it hopes to reopen the border with Singapore within the next few days, The Star reported.

This statement came just hours after the Malaysia federal government imposed a nation-wide lockdown from March 18 to 31 to curb the Covid-19 outbreak.

The lockdown was announced on March 16.

It resulted in Malaysians flooding into Singapore on March 17, causing a 7km jam in the Malaysian state in the direction of Singapore.

Johor chief minister, Mentri Besar Hasni Mohammad, said the reopening of border would be done with more stringent health checks on both sides of the border.

"We are coming up with a mitigation plan during this Covid-19 outbreak," he said during a press conference after the state executive councillors meeting held at Kota Iskandar on March 18.

“Among the categories exempted are those with work passes by Malaysia or Singapore, students studying in Singapore, those with specialised skills, businessmen, those involved in logistics and others that would be announced soon.”

Hasni also said a special committee headed by him, the state secretary and state security council would discuss the matter on the day the lockdown occurred.

He added that he would have a discussion with his Singaporean counterparts the day after before they forwarded the matter to the Malaysian federal government for announcement.

Beginning Wednesday, the border between Malaysia and Singapore has been locked down.

Only lorries and people with special permission are allowed to pass.