PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia will declare itself free of Covid-19 when the country records zero new cases of infection for 28 consecutive days.
Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said this is the same method applied before the announcement of the end of a cluster.
“Currently, to end a cluster, we monitor it for 28 days, which is two cycles of the (Covid-19) incubation period.
“So, we use the same method. If we register zero cases for 28 consecutive days, then we will declare that Malaysia is free from Covid-19, that’s our benchmark,” he said at the daily Covid-19 press conference here, today.
To a question, Dr Noor Hisham said the ministry is in the midst of preparing standard operating procedures (SOPs) for reflexology and massage businesses to resume activities.
He said the proposed SOPs will be tabled to the National Security Council (NSC) next week.
“Under the recovery phase, we encourage all sectors to reopen in stages. For reflexology and massage activities, the ministry is currently discussing and reviewing suitable SOPs, which we will submit to the NSC as soon as possible.
“We expect all sectors to reopen by the end of the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO).
“We were worried that there would be an exponential spike at the early stage, particularly after Hari Raya. But, that did not happen, instead, the number of (new) cases dropped.
“What is key now is to make sure the (number of) cases will not increase exponentially. If we can maintain the new cases at single or double digits, more sectors will be allowed to resume operations,” he said in response to calls from disabled groups to allow reflexology and massage activities to resume during the RMCO, as many of them have lost their source of income
