KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 27 — Three areas nationwide will be placed under the enhanced movement control order (EMCO) from tomorrow until January 10, 2021 due to a spike in Covid-19 cases, the government announced today.

Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said two are located in Johor: a correctional centre in Johor Baru and a police detention centre in Kota Tinggi.

He said eight new cases were detected at the Johor Baru correctional facility between December 16 to 23, while over 120 detainees held at the Kota Tinggi district police headquarters lock-up facility tested positive for Covid-19.

The third area under EMCO is the Jelebu prison in Negri Sembilan where 305 inmates were said to have contracted the virus.

Ismail said the cases at the Johor Baru Correctional Centre were detected when detainees had appeared in court in a different district.

He said there were 685 detainees and staff who had been exposed to eight positive cases at the correctional centre.

"Therefore, on the advice and risk assessment by the MoH, the government had agreed to enforce the EMCO on the Johor Baru Correctional Centre and the staff quarters, Batu 19 Jalan Ulu Choh-Pontian,” he said in a statement.

At the Kota Tinggi police district headquarters, 125 detainees held at its lock-up facility tested positive for Covid-19. The MoH has screened 171 detainees to date.

Ismail said the EMCO will cover the Dewan Arena Segitiga area, Lot 19094, Taman Desa Sejahtera, where all Covid-19 positive detainees will be temporarily housed.

"The EMCO is meant to contain the spread of Covid-19 and execute targeted screening on all detainees and staff involved,” he said.

At the Jelebu prison, the MoH detected 307 positive cases among both inmates and prison staff.

Over 1,000 inmates and staff had been tested and screened up until December 22, with the former accounting for up to 95 per cent of total cases, at 305.

The remaining two cases are prison wardens.

The minister said a lockdown was necessary to prevent the disease from reaching nearby communities.

No movements in and out of the prison facilities, including family visits, will be allowed for the next two weeks.