Covid-19 cases have been increasing in the country and to help contain the spread, Malaysia has placed travel restrictions on seven new provinces in Italy, Japan and Iran.

The areas are Lombardy, Veneto and Emilia-Romagna in Italy; Hokkaido in Japan as well as Tehran, Qom and Gilan in Iran, reported The Star Online.

"The Government has decided to temporarily restrict visitors – regardless of nationality – from entering Malaysia if they have been to these cities or provinces within 14 days of their arrival in our country.

Advised to postpone travel plans

"Malaysians are also advised to postpone travel to the areas for the time being," said Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

Prior to this, Malaysia had issued travel restrictions to visitors from Daegu city and Cheongdo district in Korea, as well as Hubei, Zhejiang and Changdu provinces in China.

He said Malaysians in the affected areas are advised to take precautionary measures to avoid contracting the disease.

According to the situation report by the World Health Organisation, over 105,000 people have been confirmed with Covid-19 worldwide with over 3,500 deaths so far.