The recovery phase of Malaysia's movement control order (RMCO) has been extended until Mar 31, 2021, said Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Ismail Sabri Yaakob on Friday (Jan 1).

He said the decision was made following a risk assessment conducted by the Ministry of Health (MOH), which found that there was still a significant rise in COVID-19 cases nationwide, with a high infectivity rate.

“This order has been gazetted in the Federal Government Gazette," he said in a statement.

"The increase in the number of cases has been contributed by the implementation of compulsory screening on foreign workers carried out on a large scale, as well as the spread of infection within the community, especially in the Klang Valley and several states."

On Friday, Malaysia reported 2,068 new COVID-19 cases and three deaths. This comes a day after a record of 2,525 daily cases.

The total number of active cases stands at 23,433.

Malaysia entered the RMCO phase on Jun 10 where almost all social, educational, religious and business activities, as well as economic sectors reopened progressively. Interstate travel was also permitted while the country's borders remained closed.

The RMCO was previously scheduled to end on Dec 31, 2020.

According to Ismail Sabri, all standard operating procedures under the RMCO will apply during the period and are subject to changes that will be announced from time to time.