Kuala Lumpur: The government will continue to protect the people against Covid-19 infection although the country will be transitioning to the endemic phase from April 1, says Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.
He said the transition process should be followed by a change from being dependent on government intervention to community solidarity and individuals’ responsibilities including continuing with the vaccination programme for children and administering of the booster dose.
“We can no longer depend on the standard operating procedure (SOP) and Act 342 (Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (Amendment) Act 2021).
“The government will also increase the treatment options for the infected patients with new medications and monitoring of positive cases from home through our virtual CAC (Covid-19 Assessment Centre),” he said at a news conference in Parliament building, here, Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that Malaysia would be shifting to the endemic phase which would see more relaxation to the rules in various sectors and full reopening of the country’s borders
On community solidarity and individuals’ responsibilities, Khairy said the people would no longer be forced to follow the rules and issued summonses. Instead, emphasis would be on complying with the mitigating SOP.
“We no longer want to see people being forced, given summonses and so no but creating good air circulation at the workplaces and implementing a work-from-home system if it is suitable.
“The responsibilities of individuals is more to adhering to the self health control protocol such as undergoing the test for symptoms, wearing a high-quality face mask and practising reasonable physical distancing,” he said.
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