KUALA LUMPUR, March 17 — All public parks in the city will be closed for two weeks starting tomorrow to prevent the Covid-19 outbreak from spreading, the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) announced today.

In the brief notice posted on DBKL’s official Facebook page, the notice in Malay stated and issued under the orders of the city mayor read: "KL’s public parks will be closed from March 18 to March 31, 2020 to prevent Covid-19 from spreading. This inconvenience is very much regretted.”

When contacted, Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Nor Hisham A. Dahlan confirmed to Malay Mail that all public parks in Kuala Lumpur would be closed during these two weeks.

Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) corporate planning director Khairul Azmir Ahmad confirmed to Malay Mail that the list of public parks to be closed are 14 public parks in Kuala Lumpur.

These include Taman Botani Perdana, Taman Rimba Kiara, Taman Tasik Titiwangsa, Taman Tasik Manjalara, Taman Metropolitan Kepong and Taman Metropolitan Batu.

The other parks that will be closed are Taman Tasik Datuk Keramat, Taman Tasik Permaisuri, Taman Bukit Jalil, Taman Pudu Ulu, Taman Tasik Ampang Hilir, Taman Alam Damai, Taman Dusun Bandar and Taman Danau Kota.

DBKL’s announcement comes after the government yesterday announced a two-week movement control order banning public gatherings and requiring all non-essential services to close from March 18 to March 31.

The government’s two-week order is aimed at preventing crowds, as crowds would cause the Covid-19 virus to spread faster and easier.

Even before this two-week order was announced, the government had previously urged for the postponement of mass gatherings, and advised Malaysians to practise social distancing or staying at least one metre apart from each other to help slow the spread of Covid-19.

In separate announcements by DBKL, a list of services to be closed to the public was also provided including all DBKL offices, multipurpose halls and community halls, sports complexes, the Kuala Lumpur Library and its branches, and public toilets under its supervision.

The full list of services to be closed and the full list of non-essential businesses that DBKL has ordered to be closed can be found in this report "KL mayor: Food trucks, fresh markets, roadside stalls must close for Covid-19 shutdown”.