Face Masks Now Optional Indoors, With Exceptions

Based on the current Covid-19 situation in Malaysia, the Health Ministry has announced that the use of face masks in confined spaces is no longer mandatory.

However, wearing a face mask is still required in public transportation, such as buses and planes, or when experiencing symptoms, as well as in medical facilities and care centres. It is also compulsory for persons who have tested positive for Covid-19 to visit Covid-19 Assessment Centres (CAC) for a health checkup.

 

Premises owners can require customers to wear face masks

To combat the spread of the virus, Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said that establishment owners could require visitors to wear face masks when entering and spending time in their establishments.

The minister said owners have the right to deny customers who defy their conditions and that some premises owners might feel they are exposed, and there's a high risk if masks are not worn. 

Despite the easing of the restriction, he urged people to keep their masks on as it prevents the spread of Covid-19.

He stated that those in the high-risk category, particularly the elderly, the immunocompromised, those exposed to them and those who are symptomatic, must continue to wear the mask.

Khairy gave the same advice to those who go to busy places like shopping malls. He stated that the outdoor masking restriction, which was relaxed on May 1, stayed unchanged.

According to him, the relaxations do not imply that people can take the virus and its spread lightly, and if the cases increase and become serious again, the government will reimpose the mandate.

According to Khairy, Covid-19 and suspected patients occupied 19% of the 371 critical care unit (ICU) beds. Those on ventilators accounted for 11% of the total. Only 4% of the 530 beds at Covid-19's low-risk quarantine and treatment facilities (PKRC) were in use.

When the restriction was lifted on May 1, it was agreed that masks would still be required in public indoor areas, with the government threatening fines for noncompliance.

 

Towards endemicity

On August 31, the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) stated that the mandate for mask use in enclosed areas should be reconsidered because the number of cases in the country had reached a "sort of plateau" and the hospitalisation rate was manageable.

Its president, Dr Koh Kar Chai, stated that this was because the population had been exposed to Covid-19 for a long time and was becoming acquainted with the virus. Masks have been mandatory in public indoor and outdoor spaces throughout the country since August 2020.

The ruling was enacted during a period of relatively low infection and hospitalisation rates, and it was intended to cater to the progressive reopening of the economy, which necessitated the relaxation of movement restrictions.

People may, however, remove it at home, when eating in public, exercising in outdoor parks, and visiting recreational areas such as beaches or forests.

He stated that the decision to make masks optional was based on the fact that Malaysia had completed the transition to the endemicity phase and that the virus was under control. Khairy also emphasised the availability of antivirals, which influenced his decision even more.

He advised caution as specialists are unsure if the virus will change to become milder or more threatening to public health.

"When we want to transition, but this is very much dependent on mutation, hence research on the variant and their effects have to be continued.

"We can consider going into the endemic phase completely if we find that the new variants do not cause severe Covid-19 in the upcoming months but we still do not know how the virus is behaving," he stated.

 

Source: NST