KUALA LUMPUR (REUTERS) - Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has tested negative for the coronavirus, his office said on Wednesday (Oct 7), after a minister who attended a high-level meeting chaired by the Premier last Saturday contracted the virus.

Tan Sri Muhyiddin, along with 13 ministers and deputy ministers, started home quarantine on Monday after it was discovered that Religious Affairs Minister Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri had Covid-19.

"The Prime Minister is currently in good health. However, he will continue self-quarantine until the end of the 14-day period set by the Ministry of Health," the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.

Malaysia is grappling with a sharp spike in coronavirus cases over the past two weeks, reporting a record 691 new cases on Tuesday.

Mr Muhyiddin has said targeted lockdowns would be imposed in areas with high rates of coronavirus infections, but there would not be a country-wide shutdown like the one imposed in mid-March.

"For now we are not thinking of imposing a total lockdown nationwide. If we do that again, it could bring down the country's economic and social systems," he said on Tuesday in an address on Facebook Live from his home.