Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the guidelines were formulated by the Penang National Security Council in consultation with the state government.

Chow said the CMCO would affect 150,000 people within a 26.7 sq km area which will cover Bayan Baru, Queensbay, the Free Industrial Zone, Sungai Ara, Bayan Lepas and Batu Maung.

Regular and express buses, including taxis and e-hailing vehicles, are allowed to operate within the area.

Other guidelines include: Only two persons in a car allowed to buy sundry goods, food, medicines or other necessities; high-risk individuals, such as seniors and children, not encouraged to go out in public; sports and recreational activities limited to non-contact ones, with no more than 10 people in an open area; all schools to be closed, including skills training institutes, kindergartens, tahfiz schools and child day-care centres.

Chow said more details would be given by the federal government soon.

At a press conference earlier, state Local Government, Housing, Town and Country Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said at least 400,000 people would be affected by the CMCO.

He said this might also include those who live outside the area but travel there for work.

Jagdeep said to date, 11,135 people had been tested for Covid-19 in Penang. He said 5,000 city council officers on the island and mainland are on enforcement duty to nab those flouting SOPs.

The Bayan cluster, which originated in the Mukim 12 (Greater Bayan Baru area), southwest district, has recorded 92 cases. As at Nov 2, there were 62 active cases in Bayan Lepas alone.

It was reported that 199 factory workers in the Bayan Lepas area have been ordered to stay home.

Eighty-seven Nepalese men and 112 Indonesian women have been placed under quarantine.

Most of the foreigners affected by Covid-19 are from villages near Jalan Kolam Ikan in Bayan Lepas.