Stick to SOPs until herd immunity achieved, says Noor Hisham

 

Health director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah said the decision on lifting a ban on domestic travel would depend on evaluation of certain factors.

KUALA LUMPUR: Health director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah has called for continued compliance with the standard operating procedures (SOP) implemented to curb the spread of the deadly virus until herd immunity is achieved.

He said adherence to the hygiene and safety protocols and measures to ensure public health should be continued even though the national Covid-19 immunisation programme is under way.

The first phase of the immunisation programme began on Feb 24 and is expected to involve 30,000 frontline workers.

Noor Hisham said the National Security Council would evaluate and discuss from time to time the measures which have been implemented to curb the spread of the pandemic, including international border control, the enforcement of various rules and procedures, as well as Covid-19 testing and screening.

“The decision to allow inter-state or inter-district travel, for example, depends on the evaluation of some of these factors by the government.

Among the key indicators to be evaluated in the risk assessment are the current situation of the Covid-19 daily cases, infectivity rates, deaths and the current bed capacity for Covid-19 patients, he said in a statement today.

He said the current state of infections among health personnel and Covid-19 laboratory testing and surveillance would also be among the indicators to be evaluated.

Noor Hisham was previously reported to have said that the health ministry would consider easing the restrictions enforced on domestic travel if 70% to 80% of the people had been inoculated with the Covid-19 vaccine. - FMT