Malls and many businesses in Malaysia shuttered as the country began its second nationwide lockdown to tackle a worsening surge of the coronavirus that has put its health care system on the verge of collapse, AP reports.

The Southeast Asian nation imposed a partial lockdown on May 12, banning all social activities but allowing the economic sector to operate. Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin caved in to growing calls for large-scale lockdown after daily infections breached 8,000 on Friday and soared to a record 9,020 on Saturday.

"If this drastic action is not taken immediately, it is feared that our health care system will collapse and we will face a bigger catastrophe," Muhyiddin said in a national broadcast.

This will be the country's second nationwide lockdown since the start of the pandemic and it risks derailing its economic recovery.