PUTRAJAYA, Sept 8 — The Health Ministry has issued a strong reminder to its medical frontliners and staff as well as personnel from other government agencies to take extra precaution in light of the recent spike in Covid-19 infections.
Its director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the R-naught value for Covid-19 has increased to 1.72, compared to 0.72 two weeks ago.
“This sudden increase is indicative of a higher risk of Covid-19 transmission in the country,” he said during his bi-weekly press conference.
In addition to the ministry’s analysis which has revealed an upswing in domestic incidences, Dr Noor Hisham said this may have been the result of a growing sense of carelessness and complacency in which the standard operating procedures (SOP) were not observed as rigorously as before.
“This complacency also seems to have affected the frontliners and personnel, who have always remained at high risk of infection while on duty in both public and private medical facilities.
“Therefore a 100 per cent adherence to the SOPs and management guidelines is of vital importance. Failure to do so will result in the further spread of Covid-19,” he said.
The director-general cited the recent instance of a healthcare personnel from the Sungai cluster in Kedah, who unwittingly infected seven family members, as an example of complacency and carelessness.
Today has seen 100 new Covid-19 cases reported, bringing the infection rate to three digits and fears of a possible future wave of infections in Malaysia.
