Japanese automakers Toyota and Honda decided to stop the production and sale of new cars in Malaysia due to the coronavirus restrictions that came into force there, TASS reported referring to Nikkei.

Toyota has two factories in Malaysia in the state of Selangor. Honda also has two factories in the country producing motorcycles and automobiles. Due to the demands of the Malaysian authorities, the automakers had to leave no more than 10% of their personnel in their workplaces, as a result of which the functioning of the factories in the usual mode became impossible.

The toughest socio-economic restrictions in the past year came into force in Malaysia on Tuesday amid a sharp rise in the number of people infected with the coronavirus. The strict measures announced by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin will be in effect throughout the country until June 14, after which, if the situation improves, they are expected to be phased out.

In May, the number of infected people in Malaysia began to rise sharply. Last week, another anti-record was set - more than 9 thousand cases per day. Experts explain this by the penetration of the Indian strain of the virus into the country, which has a higher spreading rate, and insufficient testing for coronavirus.