Malaysia has extended the measures imposed to contain the outbreak of the novel coronavirus until Dec. 31, 2020. Malaysia will continue imposing the recovery phase of "Movement Control Order" measures to contain the COVID-19 till Dec. 31, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said on Friday, citing risks posed by the continued spread of the pandemic worldwide. Yassin said, in a televised speech, on Friday that the extension of the restrictions will not disrupt daily activities, as most companies' work has resumed, as well as studying in schools, indicating that his country has witnessed separate groups of cases of infection, but the situation is still under control. Entertainment centers are still closed, in addition to the ban on holding international sporting events, and the borders will remain closed and those coming from abroad will be isolated. In a televised speech, Yassin said the situation within Malaysia is under control, with a low number of local transmissions as well as some positive economic recovery. However he said the COVID-19 situation globally still did not show signs of ending in the foreseeable future and that the country itself is still faced with a transmission risk such as several case clusters reported recently. "This risk must be handled immediately and controlled through strict measures before it spreads widely," he said. "This means the government still needs the legal mechanisms to continue to control the COVID-19 outbreak. So in your interests, the government has decided to extend the recovery Movement Control Order until Dec. 31," he said. "What is important is that we must get used to wearing facemasks, washing hands, ensuring personal cleanliness and avoiding crowded places. I believe all this has already been practiced by you all this while, allowing us to control the spread of COVID-19 in the community," he said. Malaysia first implemented the restrictions on March 18 before relaxing them since May. Most economic and social activities have been allowed to resume since the recovery Movement Control Order started in June. — Agencies