KUALA LUMPUR, August 3 — Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah has reminded Malaysians to prepare for the Covid-19 second wave as predicted by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
In his regular press conference, the Ministry of Health (MOH) director-general said that WHO had predicted a second wave over the next six months, and that Malaysia still have four months until the end of the year.
He noted that with cases increasing in the Northern hemisphere with winter closing in, as well as in Hong Kong, Japan, Australia and Vietnam, Malaysia must maintain and tighten its border control.
“Although we are discussing to allow a green lane for certain countries, we must still tighten our border control. The discussion on this can go on but the implementation must be looked at.
“Second is our public health control on local transmission. We need the collaboration of each and every individual to comply with the SOP for this country,” said Dr Noor Hisham.
He reminded the public to maintain their social distancing and to wear a mask when they are in crowded public places or when taking public transport as there are evidence that Covid-19 may be airborne.
However, he allowed for leniency when individuals are exercising or when they are speaking on the podium but reminded the public to simply avoid crowded and confined spaces.
Similarly, he acknowledged that the Health Ministry does not encourage children below two years old to wear the face mask.
However, he said that it is best that these kids stay at home instead of being unnecessarily exposed to the virus by parents who take their children out in public especially since they are in the highly vulnerable category.
