The Ministry of Health will release the revised SOP details for COVID-19 in the near future
Bernama
29/06/2024
Dr Dzulkefly speaking to reporters during a press conference at the launch of the Malaysian Nutrition Month Celebration 2024 in Nilai, today.- Photo Bernama
VALUE: The Ministry of Health (KKM) will release details of the revised standard operating procedures (SOP) related to COVID-19 in the near future following the country's transition to the phase of living with the pandemic.
Summary of AI
Revision of SOP COVID-19: The Ministry of Health (KKM) will release details of the revision of standard operating procedures (SOP) related to COVID-19. This SOP involves three things: the surveillance and observation order (HSO), the wearing of face masks, and the declaration of local areas of infection.
Transition to Living With the Virus: The Ministry of Health decided that Malaysians are now in the phase of living with the COVID-19 virus. This view considers COVID-19 like any other virus, and countries trying to move out of the endemic transition to living with the virus.
Healthy Eating and the War on Sugar: The Malaysian Nutrition Month Program aims to change mindsets and raise awareness about healthy eating. The prevalence of obesity and overweight in the country is increasing, and more than half of adults are at risk of developing non-communicable diseases (NCDs) due to obesity.
Its minister, Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, said it included three things, namely the surveillance and observation order (HSO), the wearing of face masks and the declaration of local areas of infection.
He said the Cabinet had agreed on the revision of the SOP for COVID-19 and the Director General of Health was expected to announce the matter on a date to be set later.
"The details (SOP) are technical. For example, previously the HSO was at home for five days (positive for COVID-19) and had to update the symptoms in MySejahtera. When the (SOP) is reviewed later, it may change. We are waiting for details from the chief director later.
"In that way, it is an era where we start treating COVID-19 like any other virus. We used to move from a pandemic to an endemic transition. Now we want to get out of an endemic transition to living with a virus," he said.
He told reporters after inaugurating the Ministry of Health Malaysian Nutrition Month 2024 with the theme 'Change Minds, Prevent Nutrition-Related Diseases' here today.
Dzulkefly was previously reported as saying that the Ministry of Health has decided that Malaysians are now in the phase of living with the COVID-19 virus and towards continuing life as usual.
Regarding today's program, he said it aims to change minds and increase community awareness about the importance of practicing healthy eating to prevent non-communicable diseases (NCD) related to nutrition.
He said this is because the current prevalence of NCDs in the country is very worrying with the results of the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2023 showing the prevalence of obesity and overweight increased to 54.5 percent last year compared to 50.1 percent in 2019.
"Consistently for the past decade, for every two Malaysian adults, one is overweight while one in six adults has diabetes, showing that more than half of adults are at risk of getting NCDs due to uncontrolled obesity," he said.
Dzulkefly said the Ministry of Health is also drafting a Strategic Plan for Reducing Sugar Among Malaysians (2024-2030) to ensure that more aggressive and targeted activities can be implemented in an integrated manner at various levels.
"It is to deal with excessive sugar consumption through the planning of the War Against Sugar initiative that will be launched in the near future," he said.
Therefore, he called on the representatives of the people to jointly make the War on Sugar one of the activities or programs that need to be carried out in their respective areas in line with the nationwide approach.
-- BERNAMA
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