Health DG calls for Malaysians to practise social responsibility

By Xavier Kong

HEALTH director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah once again called for Malaysians to practise the social responsibility that is required of them in following standard operating procedures and guidelines.

He noted that, since April 27, higher education institutes have sent home 49,019 students to date, and that these students are required to finish a self-quarantine of 14 days (for those traveling within Peninsular Malaysia) or to get tested for Covid-19 (for those returning to Sabah and Sarawak). He reminded students that, even if the results are negative, the 14-day quarantine will still have to be observed.

He pointed towards the case where several students returning from an institute of higher education who were caught flouting the quarantine order. They were then found to be Covid-19 positive.

“This poses a risk of infection to vulnerable groups, such as the elderly, young children, infants, and those with chronic illnesses,” he said.

Dr Noor Hisham also noted that the trend of new cases confirmed has been trending downwards, attributing this to the high percentage of Malaysians who obeyed the Movement Control Order (MCO).

However, he noted that this has to continue through the festive season, and the trend of people crossing state borders to celebrate the festive season with family members is worrying.

There were 44 new recoveries reported today, bringing the total number of discharged patients to 5,615, 80.9% of the total number of cases. There were 47 new cases confirmed, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 6,941. Of these 47 cases, 21 cases are imported, and 17 are foreign nationals.

Active transmission cases number 1,213, of which 13 are being treated in intensive care units. Of those, six require ventilator support. No deaths were reported today, keeping the death toll at 113.

Parents are again advised not to bring their children along to public places such as supermarkets or hospitals without appointment. Should this advice be ignored, the Ministry of Health may have to turn to harsher measures.

For those crossing state borders without a valid reason, the current action is to turn them around and advise them to not head back to their hometowns. Should Malaysians continue to challenge this, harsher measures such as fines may be implemented.

Dr Noor Hisham noted that these are unusual times, and that the usual practice of visiting friends and family during the festive season has to be put on hold for this year.

He also shared that, should the number of new cases be maintained or brought down over the Conditional MCO period, it would mean that the CMCO is working, as long as Malaysians follow guidelines and procedures.

“However, the worry now is the festive season, where we do not know if we will see a spike in cases. Should guidelines be ignored, it is very likely we will see growing numbers again,” he said.

“Before we talk about the exit strategy, Malaysians need to adhere to the CMCO. If the CMCO is not adhered to, there may be a need to extend it further,” he added. – May 18, 2020