KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 3 — Malaysians must practise constant vigilance to break the Covid-19 chain of infections, Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said today.
He said he understood that regular Malaysians were weary of wearing face masks, washing their hands and being forced to physically distance themselves from others since the virus outbreak here.
“Until we have a vaccine, distancing is the only way to stave the spread of the virus.
“We’ve used this method since March and managed to curb the spread of infection.
“However, maybe after 10 months, we are tired or fatigued and this fatigue syndrome perhaps has already hit the frontliners and the public.
“But what I can assure you is that if we continue to adhere to the new norms we will be successful in curbing the virus from continuing to spread among us,” he said in his daily Covid-19 briefing in Putrajaya.
He continued to advocate the importance of wearing face masks properly and physical distancing, even after a vaccine is released publicly.
“The safest place is your home. If you have no important matters to attend to, don’t go out,” he added.
Malaysia added a new record of 317 new infections today, most of it from Sabah and Kedah.
Health experts interviewed by Malay Mail have concurred with Dr Noor Hisham on compliance, pointing out that adherence to health regulations and SOP by Malaysians are wanting judging from the high numbers of daily arrests against flouters.
The doctors interviewed suggested an increase in penalties and stiffer regulations if cases continue to increase as well as proposing a temporary inter-state travel in the peninsula if cases continue to spike as it has in the last three days.
