KUALA LUMPUR, April 15 — Health Director-General Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said today that the practice of social distancing is more important than wearing a face mask as a measure to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said that face masks are merely an additional protection as avoiding the “three Cs” — confined spaces, crowded places, and close contact — as more effective in reducing the infection rate.
“For those who are exposed to the public places and they want to wear face masks there is no objection at all.
“But the most important thing is the distance. We should avoid confined spaces where there is poor ventilation, crowded places, and also close contact when you communicate with your friends,” he told a press conference this evening.
Dr Noor Hisham said this when asked should Malaysia follow suit on Singapore’s decision on making it mandatory for all their citizens to wear face masks as a stricter measure to curb the spread of the infection.
Yesterday, Singapore’s National Development Minister Lawrence Wong said that all Singaporean need to wear face masks except for children aged below two.
Wong said that those who do not wear face masks will risk a SG$300 (RM913) fine for first-time offenders.
