Malaysia announced the measure after confirmed cases in the country surpassed 500 on Monday, according to a Reuters report which also said that nearly two- thirds of the cases were linked to religious gatherings at a mosque in Kuala Lumpur, attended by upto 16,000 people, during February 28 to March 1.

Among the attendants, there were 1,500 foreigners while a Thai was confirmed to have contracted the virus at the event. Confirmed cases in Malaysia stand at 673 as of the latest report.

At the Thai-Malaysian border, traders said the lockdown had deprived them of Malaysian customers, leaving just local clients.