Face masks indoors now optional
Published on: Thursday, September 08, 2022
By: Bernama
Khairy said the public was still strongly encouraged to wear a face mask, because it had been proven to reduce the spread of infection.
Kuala Lumpur: The Ministry of Health (MOH) has stipulated that the use of face masks indoors is now optional, with immediate effect.Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, when announcing this, said however that owners of premises could still determine whether visitors are required to wear one.
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Nevertheless, he said, the use of face masks was still mandatory for positive cases of Covid-19 who needed to go to the Covid-19 Assessment Centre (CAC) to undergo a health assessment.
“It is also mandatory while using public transportation services such as buses, trains, taxis, including e-hailing services, air planes and buses, employee vans and school vans, and while in health facilities such as hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, hemodialysis centres, and the like,” he said in a press conference after officiating the International Generic and Biosimilar Medicines Association (IGBA) - Malaysian Organisation of Pharmaceutical Industries (Mopi) Conference, here, Wednesday.
He said the decision was made based on an assessment of the Covid-19 situation as well as taking into account current needs.
The wearing of face masks had been made mandatory on Aug 1, 2020, to curb the Covid-19 pandemic.
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On May 1 this year, the Government decided to make donning face masks optional outdoors, but still required them to be worn indoors and in public transport including e-hailing services.
Khairy said the public was still strongly encouraged to wear a face mask, because it had been proven to reduce the spread of infection.
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“MOH also strongly encourages the wearing of face masks to be continued, especially in crowded areas such as night markets, stadiums, shopping centres and houses of worship,” he said.
The use of face masks is also encouraged for individuals with symptoms such as fever, cough and cold, high-risk individuals such as the elderly, those suffering from chronic diseases, individuals with low immunity and pregnant mothers, as well as those who perform activities with high-risk people such as the elderly and children.
Meanwhile, MOH is considering purchasing a variant-specific Covid-19 vaccine that is capable of fighting the Omicron variant.
Khairy said, however, the Ministry has yet to decide on the immunisation programme that will be implemented if it offers the vaccine.
“We will decide based on the current epidemiological trend of infection. We have yet to decide whether to offer the vaccine to everyone or only to those who are at high risk.
“Now we are looking at a more targeted vaccination programme,” he said.
Last month, Britain approved a variant-specific Covid-19 vaccine produced by the United States pharmaceutical company, Moderna, as a booster for adults.
Khairy also said the MOH’s Technical Working Group (TWG) on Aug 3 recommended the administration of a second booster dose of the messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine for pregnant or breastfeeding women, in line with the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendation.
Khairy said the TWG also
recommended giving the first vaccine booster to children aged five to under 12; Covid-19 vaccination for children aged between six months and five years and heterologous vaccination for the second booster dose, adding that a heterologous vaccine with mRNA vaccine or viral vector vaccine for the second booster dose can be administered to individuals who are at high risk of developing serious illnesses due to Covid-19.
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