KUALA LUMPUR, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia reported six new COVID-19 cases, pushing the national total to 8,535, the Health Ministry said Friday.
Health Ministry Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said at a press briefing that of the new cases, two are imported cases while four are local transmissions.
Another 70 COVID-19 cases were cured and discharged on Friday, pushing the total cured to 94.6 percent of all cases. of the remaining 344 active cases, three are being held in intensive care and none of them are in need of assisted breathing.
No new death has been reported, leaving the total deaths at 121.
Meanwhile, Defense Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who coordinates the implementation of restrictive measures, told a separate press conference the government has decided to partly open the country's international borders.
Malaysia has relaxed restrictive measures to allow most economic and social activities to resume, but border controls remain in place, strictly restricting its citizens from leaving the country and foreigners from entering the country.
Among those allowed to travel are some expatriates, technical experts, individuals coming to Malaysia for medical treatment as well as foreign students studying in Malaysia.
Malaysian students who need to go abroad to continue their studies, people travel for business purposes and emergency will be allowed to exit the country as long as they have letters authorizing that they are required to leave, Ismail Sabri said.
The health ministry is drawing up a list of "green zone" countries or regions to facilitate travel, he added. Enditem
