Dr Noor Hisham worried public will be complacent following zero local cases again

PETALING JAYA: The Health Ministry is concerned that the public will be complacent in the fight against Covid-19, as the country once again records zero local transmissions of the disease.

“We are worried that the public will be complacent or return to their normal lives without following the standard operating procedure (SOP) that we have advocated, ” Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said on Tuesday (July 14) during a press conference on the Covid-19 situation in the country.

He said the virus was still around and could return or spread if people were complacent and did not take preventive measures or maintain cleanliness.

He said that based on their modelling, they had expected zero cases of local transmissions for the disease.

“We are not able to control the cases among those who return from overseas. What we can control are local cases – in their single digits or none, ” he said.

He added that to achieve results in public health, it was important that the public adhered to the SOP.

Asked about other countries facing second waves of the disease that made it mandatory to wear face masks, Dr Noor Hisham said Malaysia did not want to do it that way.

“If we make it mandatory, those who don’t wear masks will have to pay RM1,000 or go to prison. We don’t want to use this method.

"But we encourage very much the use of masks, especially in public spaces or if anyone has symptoms, ” he said.