(Bloomberg) --
Malaysia is preparing for coronavirus infections to peak in the middle of this month.
Authorities have been heartened to see no spike in cases of the disease known as Covid-19 and expect infections to peak in mid-April in line with World Health Organization's estimate, Director-General of Health Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a televised briefing. The country reported 217 new cases on Friday to bring the overall tally to 3,333, the most in Southeast Asia, with 53 deaths.
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The government imposed nationwide restrictions on movement and ordered schools and some shops to close since March 18 in a bid to contain the pandemic. The initial two-week lockdown was extended to April 14 as authorities added more stringent restrictions along the way.
Malaysia has sought to model itself after South Korea with active testing on communities found to have dozens of confirmed cases, Noor Hisham said. The country has tested nearly 50,000 people in a population of 32 million, he added.
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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