Good morning, here's a quick rundown of what happened over the weekend.

Key Highlights

• Confusion galore
  
  
• No inter-district travel
  
  
• The deadliest week
  
  

Confusion galore

Last week, the government touted its new Hotspot Identification Dynamic Engagement (Hide) system, which uses artificial intelligence and big data to predict if locations affected by Covid-19 could develop into new clusters.

When the first Hide list was released on Saturday (May 8), massive confusion followed. Here is a brief summary of what happened:

10.30am - Hide list released. An accompanying FAQ said listed locations won’t need to close but must take pre-emptive action.

7.00pm - Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced all locations in Hide list must close immediately for three days.

11.35pm - The National Security Council (NSC) released an infographic on Telegram announcing locations on Hide list will only need to close from May 10 (Monday).

Sunday, 12.10am - NSC released an updated infographic on Telegram stating the closure was effective immediately.

Sabah decided not to comply with three of its malls listed on Hide while the Transport Ministry said LRT stations listed on Hide will not close but the shops there must do so.

That was not the only confused episode from Putrajaya. There was also this:

May 5: Selangor MCO SOP said sports with no physical touch are allowed eg. jogging, cycling.

May 6: Youth and Sports Ministry announced a ban on all sports activities in MCO areas.

May 7: Youth and Sports Ministry announced some activities such as jogging, cycling and other forms of exercise will be allowed in MCO areas.

Even the politicians were confused. Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Wan Ahmad Fayshal Wan Ahmad Kamal had defended the ban on May 6 only to have his boss Reezal Merican Naina Merican say, hours later, that he was working on relaxing the rules on May 7.

HIGHLIGHTS

	'Closure of Hide-flagged premises will cause damage' Mall associations call it misleading.
	'Patient infected by Covid-19 twice, different variants' Second time from S Africa variant.
	Octogenarian Orang Ulu brave rapids to get vaccinated They made the rainy journey to a clinic.

No inter-district travel

The government extended the inter-district travel ban throughout the country, regardless of their MCO status. It takes effect today (May 10).

Travelling across districts will require police permission but there are some exemptions.

An authorisation letter from the International Trade and Industry Ministry will get you through roadblocks for work while for medical appointments, your appointment card will suffice.

Police also stepped up roadblocks to enforce movement controls.

Seremban MP Anthony Loke questioned what’s the difference between a full MCO and the conditional MCO when the inter-district travel ban is nationwide.

The latest SOPs for the various MCOs can be found on the NSC’s website.

HIGHLIGHTS

	Kluang is fourth Johor district under MCO 3.0 It starts on May 11.
	Deputy minister posts Covid-19 conspiracy theory Ti Lian Ker said he was only questioning.
	MCO for six Penang areas, Kuantan Three Perak sub-districts also affected.

The deadliest week

More people died from Covid-19 last week (May 3-9) than in any other week since the start of the pandemic in January last year.

A total of 150 people died in the last week, surpassing the record set in the week of Feb 1-7 this year where 112 people died.

The deaths in all other weeks had never exceeded 100.

The 26 new deaths yesterday (May 9) was also a new record and it’ll likely get worse. Why?

Because the number of people in the intensive care unit (ICU) and on ventilators is also at record-breaking levels.

Yesterday, the number of patients in the ICU was 416, the first time it broke 400. The 216 patients on ventilators are also the highest yet.

During the previous peak of the third wave in February, the most people in the ICU was 319 while those on ventilators peaked at 145.

Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said hospitals would run out of beds soon and urged the public to comply with the SOPs to buy time for the healthcare system.

HIGHLIGHTS

	Harapan establishes inter-party committees Nine panels set up.
	Petronas: Labuan staff fast-tracked for vaccines They are "industrial frontliners".
	Hadi, DAP condemn Israeli violence This was over the attack at Al-Aqsa Mosque.

A daily glance at Covid-19

• 3,733 new cases yesterday (May 9).
  
  
• Active cases stand at 37,060, surpassing the estimated available Covid-19 beds in the country of 34,126. When this happened in February, low-risk patients were asked to stay home.
  
  
• The infectivity rate stood at 1.11. New cases will continue to grow as long as the infectivity rate is not brought down to under 1.0. We have been above 1.0 since April 7.
  
  
• For trends on daily cases, tests, hospital beds capacity, vaccination progress and more, follow our Covid-19 tracker.
  
  

What else is happening?

• 17-year-old Ain Husniza Saiful Nizam who outed her teacher for allegedly making a rape joke was threatened with expulsion for not returning to school. However, she found support from Olympic medallist Pandelela Renong and an academic group.
  
  
• Malaysia became an example of what not to do in a Covid-19 pandemic for Indonesia after the country's Health Ministry urged its people to stay home and "learn from Malaysia and India".
  
  
• Rocker Awie will be summoned by police after a video of him went viral, showing him in a singalong with a group of people who did not wear face masks.
  
  
• Police are investigating a rape allegation against the associates of Gombak assemblyperson Hilman Idham, who is the political secretary to International Trade and Industry Minister Azmin Ali. The woman claimed that she, the assailants and Hilman were singing karaoke before the incident.
  
  
• WCT Holdings Bhd clarified that it is seeking a "re-concession" of Subang Airport instead of a takeover.
  
  
  

HIGHLIGHTS

	Learn from India’s Covid-19 mistakes - DG Hisham He warns against relaxing the rules.
	Youths call out school teachers, victim-blaming They were inspired by student Ain Husniza.
	OKU delivery rider proves disability no barrier Muhammad Sidek works two jobs.

What are people saying?

	Avoid looming Covid-19 disaster By Dr Amar-Singh HSS
	KJ and Ismail Sabri should communicate By Teresa Kok
	Gender equality: we need to fix things By Zan Azlee

CARTOON KINI