Johor premises owners have discretion on masks - health official

Owners of premises in buildings in Johor have the discretion to decide the protocol on the wearing of face masks on their premises.

Johor Health and Unity Committee chairperson Ling Tian Soon said the state government, however, strongly encouraged the public to continue to wear face masks, especially when in crowded places, such as night markets, stadiums, shopping malls, and houses of worship.

He said individuals with symptoms, high risk and low immunity, as well as pregnant mothers, should continue to wear the face mask when in public places.

"The state government will continue to assist the Health Ministry in monitoring the Covid-19 situation, as well as ensuring the readiness of health services," he said in a statement today.

Ling said the public’s awareness of the importance of practising preventive measures contributed to the drop in Covid-19 cases and stabilised the health service system with the low admission rate to hospitals and intensive care units (ICU).

He said the usage of non-critical Covid-19 beds in the state was 21.6 percent with 117 patients, while only 3 percent of them or six patients using ventilators, as of last Wednesday.

As for ICU beds, he said the usage was 32 percent, involving seven patients, he added.

- Bernama