Health DG warns against bringing infants, children to crowded areas

By Xavier Kong

Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah noted that, while a large number of Malaysians are adhering to the guidelines of the conditional movement control order, there are still those who bring high-risk family members to crowded spaces.

He referred to photos and videos posted by netizens on social media showing the perpetrators, and said that, while it is understandable for shopping to be done in preparation of the festive season, care should still be taken to limit exposure of high-risk individuals to crowded spaces.

“We had a discussion this morning with the National Security Council regarding this matter, with the police also raising this concern. Should we add this to the regulations, it would mean a RM1,000 fine for those flouting this, or being called to court if the fine cannot be paid,” he said.

The current course of action decided upon by the council is that the police will warn and advise those with infants and young children to not bring them to crowded spaces like shopping centres.

Hairdressers are also still not allowed to operate at this time.

Dr Noor Hisham also shared his concerns that, while the number of cases reported daily are in the low double digits, “the numbers are not decreasing as fast as we want.”

“As long as we can maintain 20 cases or 15 cases, our public health team can take action to identify. Hopefully, in the next few days, we can maintain the double digits,” he added.

Recoveries were reported at 31 today, bringing the total number of patients discharged to 5,646. Also, 37 new cases were also confirmed, with two of these identified as import cases, and 22 of the remaining cases involve foreign nationals. This brings the total number of confirmed cases in Malaysia to 6,978.

A total of 1,218 cases remain active transmission cases, of which 11 are receiving treatment in intensive care units. Of these, six require ventilator support. Another death was reported, bringing the death toll to 114. – May 19, 2020

FocusM
As of 12pm, May 19
Total Infections 6978
Being Treated In ICU 11
On Ventilator 6
Total Recoveries 5646
Total Deaths 114
New Cases Today 37
New Recoveries Today 31
New Deaths Today 1

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