KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 16 — Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah warned Malaysians that the country’s Covid-19 situation could still worsen despite the movement control order (MCO).

He urged Malaysians to heed the repeated calls for them to not leave their homes except when necessary.

"If we do not get this MCO right, the worst is yet to come. A daily reminder to all ‘please stay at home’. Stay home and stay safe,” he said on Twitter.

Earlier today, Dr Noor Hisham reported 4,029 new Covid-19 cases in the country, the highest single-day figure ever by far.

Malaysia’s Covid-19 case growth has now outpaced a Health Ministry projection model that predicted 8.000 new cases a day by the middle of March.

On Monday, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced that the MCO would be reintroduced in all Federal Territories, Penang, Johor, Melaka, Selangor and Sabah until January 26.