Dr Koh Kar Chai
KUCHING (Jan 15): Malaysians are urged to be mindful of the threat of Covid-19 Omicron variant and take all precautions necessary to avert a possible outbreak.
In making this call yesterday, Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) president Dr Koh Kar Chai said they must strictly comply with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) during this coming Chinese New Year celebration.
“MMA advises all Malaysians to be mindful of the highly transmissible Omicron variant and maintain strict adherence to the SOPs during the 2022 Chinese New Year celebration.
“Avoid large gatherings, wear face masks when participating in the tradition of tossing of Yee Sang and keep the prescribed physical distance at all times,” he said in a statement.
Dr Koh said even though most Malaysian had already been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and many had received their booster shot, there is still the possibility of break out of Covid-19 infections.
As such, he said people should take all precautions available to protect themselves and their loved ones.
In a Twitter post on Jan 9, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said Malaysia cannot afford, in the economic and welfare aspects, to implement a lockdown to contain the spread of Covid-19.
He added that the government’s strategy to curb the pandemic was to implement mitigation strategies.
In Sarawak, the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) and Unit for Other Religions (Unifor) jointly announced on Thursday that this year’s Chinese New Year celebration is again limited to the first day only, which is on Feb 1.
Only close family members will be allowed for the Chinese New Year Eve reunion dinner, and the capacity allowed is only 50 per cent, subject to the size of the residence.
Festive open house, house-to-house visiting as well as lion and dragon dance performances are not allowed to help curb the spread of Covid-19.