Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah
KUCHING: Embrace the new norm of festive celebration during this Hari Raya Aidilfitri to help Malaysia break the chain of Covid-19 infection, says Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
He called upon all Malaysians to practise social distancing of at least one metre, if not two metres, to keep the virus infection at bay.
“Avoid touching or close contact greetings, and comply with the SOP (standard operating procedures) by washing hands and using hand sanitiser to kill the virus.
“For those who cannot celebrate Aidilfitri with your family members, we want to tell them that this is a sacrifice that they can do for the country.
“Together we can break the chain of Covid-19 infection. We have to take care of our family, our community and our country. Not celebrating Aidilfitri is to protect our family members and loved ones and the society as a whole,” he said when responding to questions during the daily update press conference in Putrajaya today.
Dr Noor Hisham advised Malaysians to celebrate the festival in a closed-door style amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said that when a person has been infected with Covid-19, the individual might not develop symptoms the next day but symptoms may show within a week.
“When the virus enters our body, our body will have immunity to fight the virus.”
He added that 80 per cent of those infected with Covid-19 would develop symptoms like fever and cough only within the first week.
For individuals, who had been exposed to risk of infection but with negative test results, he said they might have been tested at the early stage and developed no symptoms yet.
“If their immune system is strong, they can fight the virus and show no sign of symptoms like cough or fever.
“When children, the elderly or those with NCD (non-communicable disease) are infected, they develop symptoms more quickly,” he said.
Dr Noor Hisham went on to say that the incubation period for Covid-19 was 14 days.
This was a reason why he advised Malaysians to practise social distancing of at least one metre.
“It will be better if they can keep a two metres distance so that the virus won’t spread.”
He advised all to wash their hands properly and not just wet them.
“Use water and soap to wash your hands to kill the virus. If you develop symptoms, use a mask to minimise the risk of transmission,” he said.