Health DG: Only family members allowed to gather during festivals, social distancing must be maintained

PETALING JAYA: Although up to 20 people are allowed to gather for festivals in the same state, the Health Ministry says attendees must be from the same family and that social distancing must be maintained.

Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said that while the authorities have allowed up to 20 people to gather, the number of attendees is dependent on the physical space available.

“The 20 people may come from the same family, such as the grandchildren, the children, with the overall number reaching up to 20 people.

“The most important thing is to follow the Health Ministry guidelines, which is to maintain social distancing.

“If they are meeting in an apartment, to have 20 people will make the area a confined and crowded space and that is breaking the Health Ministry’s guidelines on social distancing, ” he said at the daily Covid-19 press briefing Monday (May 11).

He emphasised that senior citizens must also be taken care of, and this would mean refraining from offering physical expressions of affection.

“For those attending such gatherings, they must protect those who are elderly, this means no salam (greetings) or cium cium (kisses).

“Before entering the house, we must wash hands or use hand sanitisers. The number of people attending is dependent on the (size of the) residence, ” he said, adding that those wanting to visit can also come at staggered timings.

“This is a challenge and we hope that Malaysians would understand and most importantly, will adopt good practices to protect the elderly," he said. - Star