Next week, Malaysia will join a new battleground, says Health DG

The country will enter the endemic stage of the Covid-19 next week, and all Malaysians must be ready to adjust to new rules.

For this reason, more limitations established during the pandemic are gradually being relaxed, including the resumption of interstate and international travel.

Businesses, especially hoteliers, are already making the necessary preparations with new strategies in place to handle this transformation.

Stakeholders have agreed to closely follow standard operating procedure in order to avoid Covid-19 clusters and another lockdown, which may wreak havoc on their respective industries.

In a Facebook post, Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah advised the public to take care when the endemic stage begins, saying that everyone must adapt to new standards and accept that the world would no longer be the same.

He told Bernama that it was up to the people to play their parts in keeping the Malaysian Family safe from Covid-19.

Dr. Noor Hisham, anticipating a large number of people returning to their hometowns this weekend, recommended everyone to plan ahead and do what was necessary to comply with the respective SOP.

“We have so far been successful in preventing a national tragedy, as many other countries are experiencing right now.

"However, we are not yet out of the woods, since we will be fighting on a new battleground with fresh strategy in place next week."

"We can only win this war if we, all Malaysians, come together as part of our social obligation and adopt the government's standard operating procedures and guidelines," he said.

Malaysians, according to Dr. Noor Hisham, must practise social discipline, particularly in terms of adopting physical distance, taking all preventive steps, and keeping good personal hygiene.

Business establishments, he continued, should address space ventilation with frequent sanitisation of common areas such as pantries or surau, and should only allow a small number of people to congregate in a certain location at any given time.

"Every individual's activity has a rippling effect on how we manage Covid-19 in our community, and we must all learn this."
He stated, "We must adapt, adjust, and accommodate the new conventions in our life."