KINI ROUNDUP | Here are key headlines you may have missed, in brief.

1. International Trade and Industry Minister Azmin Ali urged the government to consider alternatives amid a proposal by the Health Ministry to shutdown more economic sectors as new Covid-19 cases remain high.

2. The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers said a full shutdown could cause irreparable damage to the economy.

3. All Party Parliamentary Group Malaysia for the Reform of All Places of Detention spoke out against the government’s proposal to use emergency powers to temporarily seize buildings to convert into detention centres.

4. Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the emergency proclamation gave the Health Ministry more avenues to fight the pandemic.

5. BNoor Hisham also detailed the role of private hospitals in fighting Covid-19, but said the full plan is yet to roll out as insurance companies are still in negotiations.

6. Meanwhile, Penang reported that private hospitals there have started receiving Covid-19 patients.

7. The Malaysian Association for the Blind is raising funds to help thousands of blind people who worked as masseurs but are now out of a job due to the MCO.

8. A doctor shared his toughest moments in the battle against the pandemic, including watching a Covid-19 patient die.

9. A man who was believed to have contracted Covid-19 attempted suicide by jumping off the 11th floor.

10. The National Union of the Teaching Profession panned the Kuala Terengganu Education Department for asking teachers to attend a workshop that resulted in 11 of them coming down with Covid-19.

11. Electoral reform group Bersih pushed the government to implement a public funding policy.

12. Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor said PAS does not need the support of MIC amid a row over Thaipusam. MIC fired back by asking him to contest in a mixed seat.

13. Perak Umno Youth criticised attempts to push out Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as the Umno president.