In a statement, Miti said the portal to apply for permits to conduct business under the MCO was opened at 9am. In just two hours, as many as 176,000 visitors had tried to access the site.

“Miti found that a majority of visitors are not businesses but individuals accessing Miti’s portal.

“The number of visitors is too high and this is not consistent with the number of companies in the sectors approved (to operate).”

The ministry said it was now reconfiguring the application system to ensure that only companies in approved sectors are allowed access.

Because of this, the application system at Miti’s website will be closed from 2pm to 4pm.

“We want to remind companies which are in the midst of registration to save their company information before 2pm,” Miti said.

The government had said that the industries and services looking to resume business under the MCO must submit an application, beginning today.

Businesses are required to abide by the government’s guidelines, including those set by the health ministry and other enforcement agencies.