COVID-19 | Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin expects the country's Covid-19 cases to increase in the near term but stressed that the country was in a better position than before to deal with the outbreak.

In a televised address today, Muhyiddin, who is undergoing home quarantine, said aggressive testing undertaken by the Health Ministry would result in an increase in reported cases.

The number of active Covid-19 cases surged to 2,936 as of noon today - the highest on record.

The Health Ministry reported 691 new cases today - also a record - which were mostly attributed to jail clusters in Kedah and Sabah.

Muhyiddin assured that Malaysia was in a better position to deal with the latest Covid-19 wave.

He said, for instance, contact tracing was easier now since about 60 percent of the population was using the MySejahtera application.

He urged those who had yet to download and use the app to do so immediately. 

The public health system was also prepared and he has been informed that ventilators, personal protection equipment and other necessary supplies were adequate.

Hospital beds specifically for Covid-19 patients, he said, were currently at 29 percent capacity.

"We are now better prepared than before in terms of experience and manpower. We know the behaviour of the virus better and we have enough facilities and equipment.

"But we need to break the transmission of the virus and the best way is to stay at home especially in areas where targeted movement control orders (MCO) are being enforced.

"We must flatten the curve. We did it before and I firmly believe we can do it again," he said.

In his speech, Muhyiddin also said that his administration was not considering a total lockdown of the country for now because of the economic devastation that such a move might cause.

Instead, his administration will enforce lockdowns in a targeted manner.

By midnight, seven districts in Sabah will be placed under lockdown. Travel to and from Sabah will also be temporarily disallowed for most people from Oct 12 to Oct 25.

Keep up with the latest information on the outbreak in the country with Malaysiakini's free Covid-19 tracker.

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