January 14, 2021 Deserted roads in Kuala Lumpur on the first day of the country’s latest lockdown. Reuters The streets of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s capital city, were empty on Wednesday (Jan 13) morning – a far cry from the previous night’s hubbub as people scrambled to make preparations for a two-week lockdown to curb the spread of Covid-19. Roads were packed before the order came into force at midnight on Tuesday, with Malaysians squeezing in one last dinner or drink against the backdrop of thousands of coronavirus cases. Others returned to their hometowns before a ban on interstate or even interdistrict travel took effect, or rushed to stock up on groceries despite government assurances of adequate supplies.