No televised Covid-19 briefings since Jan 21, but Health DG has been in touch

 

The Health Ministry has not conducted a televised Covid-19 media briefing for the press since Jan 21, but that doesn't mean it has gone cold.

Its director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah has regularly made himself available for quick comments, outside of the briefings.

When contacted, Noor Hisham explained that he could not conduct a televised press conference yesterday (Tuesday) as scheduled because he had urgent meetings to attend.

Coincidentally, yesterday saw Putrajaya announce the extension of the movement control order (MCO) which is now set to run until Feb 18.

Apart from leading the nation's Covid-19 response, Noor Hisham, as his title of director-general suggests, is also in charge of all Health Ministry operational matters.

Noor Hisham met with the press in Putrajaya on Jan 25. This was not a typical Covid-19 media briefing and it allowed journalists to ask questions freely.

The regular televised media briefings are more structured and the question and answer sessions regulated because of time constraints.

It is understood that it was not conducted on Jan 28 as scheduled because it was a public holiday (Thaipusam).

Noor Hisham during his working visit in Kelantan on Jan 31

Noor Hisham conducted a press conference in Kelantan on Jan 31 and another in Terengganu the day after as part of his working visit. This was not part of the normal televised Covid-19 briefings. 

The regular ones take place at the Health Ministry headquarters in Putrajaya, except for the one time when Noor Hisham had to undergo home quarantine.

Since mid-January, they were scheduled to be held only on Tuesdays and Thursdays, at approximately 6pm.

When there are no briefings, a press release will be issued in the evening and disseminated through the director-general's blog and the Health Ministry's various social media platforms.

Reporters are to submit questions by 2pm daily in order for Health Ministry officers to prepare the answers, which can at times be technical in nature.

Questions are entertained on a first-come-first-served basis. Reporters are allowed to ask follow up questions during the briefings.

The RT-PCR test capacity and completions for each day are only shared at the press conferences. However, the number of samples taken are announced every day. - Mkini