FMT
Health minister Khairy Jamaluddin has advised Malaysians to wear masks when on the campaign trail and at polling centres for the 15th general election (GE15).
Khairy said the ministry “highly recommends” that the people wear masks, especially with the recent spike in Covid-19 cases.
“I encourage anyone participating in the election campaign to wear a face mask, especially when indoors. I have also informed the Election Commission (EC) that face masks are highly recommended, though not compulsory,” he told a press conference.
Khairy said the ministry had also advised the EC that those on duty at polling centres should wear face masks.
“Further announcements will be made by the EC in the coming days,” he said, advising the candidates to set a good example when on the campaign trail, especially when visiting senior citizens or those who were sick.
He said the ministry had detected four cases of the Covid-19 Omicron subvariant XBB so far, though all patients were in Category 2 and experienced minor symptoms.
“The patients underwent isolation for seven days as per the health ministry’s SOPs. All close contacts were also identified and are in good health,” he said.
He expected the number of cases to increase slightly over the next few weeks, but said there was no cause for concern for now.
The XBB subvariant was first detected in India in August and has since been detected in more than 17 countries, including Singapore, Australia, Bangladesh, Denmark, Japan, and the US.
Khairy also said Malaysia saw a 16.5% increase in Covid-19 cases in the past week, with 16,917 infections reported compared with 14,525 the preceding week.
Overall bed occupancy for Covid-19 patients at healthcare facilities increased by 14.3%, while usage of intensive care unit (ICU) beds increased by 2%.
However, the number of deaths dropped by 31% from 29 to 20.
