HEALTH D-G REMINDER: STAY VIGILANT
WHO chief warns that Covid-19 global cases are ‘actually speeding up’
THE Health Ministry has called on Malaysians not to be complacent with the dwindling new Covid-19 cases in the country.
Instead, the public must remain vigilant and abide by the standard operating procedures (SOPs) as outlined by the ministry and take preventive measures at all times, said Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
He said with more sectors set to reopen starting today, public cooperation was crucial in the country’s efforts to break the Covid-19 transmission chain.
“To ensure a smooth recovery process, the government has established SOPs for (various) sectors and sub-sectors.
“High compliance of these SOPs is paramount in ensuring that new Covid-19 cases continue to decline,” he said yesterday.
On this note, Dr Noor Hisham highlighted World Health Organisation chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus’s warning, made during a virtual briefing, that Covid-19 global cases were “actually speeding up”.
He quoted Ghebreyesus as saying: “We all want this to be over. We all want to get on with our lives. But the hard reality is this is not even close to being over.”
Dr Noor Hisham said although most sectors of the economy were reopened and fully operational, the spread of Covid-19 within the community remained under control.
“This proves that the country’s recovery has already begun. Nonetheless, Covid-19 monitoring and surveillance are still ongoing to ensure early detection.”
It was reported the government had begun reopening various sectors in stages, including preschools and kindergartens; cinemas and theatres; recreational activities at swimming pools and theme parks from today, along with wedding ceremonies and birthday parties.
On case updates, Dr Noor Hisham said Malaysia recorded two new Covid-19 cases up to noon yesterday, bringing the tally to 8,639 cases nationwide.
He said both cases involved Malaysians, with one locally transmitted and another was an imported case.
“The locally transmitted case was detected during a presurgery screening at Kota Belud Hospital in Sabah, while another one, involved a returnee coming back from abroad,” he said.
Dr Noor Hisham also said the number of active cases stood at 164, adding that 20 more patients had recovered and been discharged from hospitals, bringing the current rate of recoveries at 96.7 per cent (8,354 cases).
“Four patients are being treated at the intensive care unit, with one placed on ventilator support, There is no death recorded today, keeping the death toll at 121 (1.4 per cent),” he said.