New chapter as Malaysia eases its Covid-19 curbs

Mask on: Although the wearing of face masks was no longer mandatory from Sept 7, many still wear it just to be cautious.

KUALA LUMPUR: Many have described the year 2022 as a new chapter for Malaysia when the country entered the transition to the Covid-19 endemic phase on April 1 after battling the virus outbreak for two years.

Like many other countries, Malaysia decided to ease its restriction measures on Covid-19.

And though there was a need to continue certain standard operating procedures (SOP) to curb the spread of the virus, the transition saw gradual relaxations in restrictions being implemented throughout the year.

Among the relaxations that were announced were the reopening of the country’s borders, the gradual lifting of the use of face masks, and the non-compulsory scanning of the MySejahtera QR code when entering premises.

The wearing of face masks was no longer mandatory outdoors from May 1 as well as indoors later on Sept 7, but this was at each individual’s discretion.

Later on Sept 28, it was announced that travellers were no longer required to wear face masks on airplanes.

The wearing of face masks on public transport had been made compulsory since Aug 1, 2020.

Though the transition saw people returning to their pre-pandemic lives, there are still many who practise self-discipline as they continue putting on face masks – a new norm since Covid-19 swept across the world in 2020.

When state elections were held during this period, several SOP were introduced for Covid-19-positive voters, including the provision of a special room or lane for them, but during the recent 15th General Election on Nov 19, the government decided that these measures were no longer necessary.

Instead, Covid-19-positive individuals were only required to wear a face mask and inform election workers at the polling centres about their health status.

Meanwhile, the seven-day quarantine period for Covid-19-positive individuals could also be reduced to four days if their test result was found to be negative on the fourth day, and quarantine was no longer required for close contacts of Covid-19-positive individuals.

In going through the transition phase, the government pursued its efforts to contain the spread of Covid-19.

In fact, the main protection against the virus – vaccination and booster doses continued to be given free to all Malaysians.

On Sept 14, World Health Organisation director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in a virtual press conference from Geneva, Switzerland, said the Covid-19 pandemic that had been going on since January 2020 was getting closer to the finish line.

However, Malaysia was reported to be facing a small wave of Covid-19 cases following the discovery of the Omicron XBB sub-variant in the country on Oct 31.

As of Dec 22, the cumulative Covid-19 cases in the country stood at 5,021,242 while in 2022, a record 33,406 new daily cases were reported on March 5. — Bernama