KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 1 (Bernama) — The Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) throughout the country has been extended till 31 March 2021, says Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

He said the decision was made following the risk assessment conducted by the Ministry of Health (MOH) which found 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. 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," he said in a statement today.

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

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

Ismail Sabri said activities at pubs and nightclubs except for the restaurant business at these premises were still prohibited during this period, while activities involving large crowds which made it difficult to implement physical distancing were also not allowed.

"Tourism activities would be based on the announcement by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC) previously, but they must comply with strict SOPs," he explained.

Meanwhile, he said the police had arrested 347 individuals yesterday for violating the RMCO, with 337 of them issued with compounds, and 10 remanded.

Under Ops Benteng, he said 31 illegal immigrants were arrested and five vehicles were seized, while 110 roadblocks were imposed yesterday.

On inspections at construction sites, he said from April 20 till yesterday, a total of 14,124 inspections were carried out by the Construction Industry Development Board of Malaysia (CIDB) involving 8,029 construction sites nationwide.

"Yesterday, enforcement personnel conducted inspections at 10 construction sites nationwide, and all of them were found compliant with the prescribed SOP," he added.