PETALING JAYA: Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on Thursday (April 23) announced that the movement control order (MCO) will be extended by another two weeks.

It is the third time that the government has decided to extend the MCO.

Muhyiddin said Covid-19 cases had shown a reduction in recent weeks.

He said the government would consider easing the restrictions spelled out in the MCO in stages if cases continued to show a sharp decrease.

"Based on the latest statistics, the number of recovered patients has risen to 3,542, which means 63.2% of the cumulative number of patients have recovered," he said.

This fourth phase of the MCO will be in force up to May 12.

The MCO was first enforced on March 18, two days following the announcement by the Prime Minister in the midst of the one-week school holidays as Covid-19 cases started to spike.

It was then extended twice; first to April 14, and then to April 28.