Malaysia recorded 4,020 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday (7 July), breaching the 4,000 mark since April this year. Apart from that, the country has been seeing a steady rise of coronavirus daily cases since Monday with 1,918 cases, 2,932 on Tuesday and 3,561 on Wednesday.
In a press conference yesterday (8 July), Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin warned Malaysians of a new wave of Covid-19 infection is expected to occur in the country earlier than expected.
Khairy also mentioned that the Omicron BA.5 sublineage is currently present in Malaysia.
“The BA.5 variant has been detected in Malaysia. It may have already been widely spread,” he said, adding that 5 cases were detected in the country as of 30 June.
He said that BA.5 will increase the number of Covid-19 infections in Malaysia as it has “immune escape properties,” which can re-infect those who already had Covid-19 within a short period of time after recovery.
With this latest update, Khairy encouraged Malaysians, especially the elderly (aged 60 and above) and children aged 5 to 11 who are immunocompromised, to get their second booster dose at selected PPVs found at https://protecthealth.com.my/. This is to ensure that they are better protected from serious infections.
At the same time, Khairy also urged Malaysians to report their Covid-19 test results to the MySejahtera app so the KKM can get more accurate data on the positivity rate for coronavirus.
He said those who are infected and of high-risk (elderly, obese, have cancer, diabetes, or heart disease) are encouraged to report themselves to the CAC and receive the appropriate treatment from KKM.
Commenting on the SOP compliance, Khairy said the ministry noted that some Malaysians have been lax about mask-wearing in closed spaces, despite it being compulsory.
He then said that the ministry will not hesitate to issue compound notices to individuals who fail to wear their masks if cases continue to surge.
“As of April 17, we have stopped issuing compound notices, but we see that compliance has been lacking among individuals in close areas as many are not wearing masks.”
“If cases continue to rise, we will not hesitate to enforce the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342) to those who do not wear their masks,” he said.
Watch the press conference here:
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