A woman checks in via MySejahtera before entering premises. – Bernama file photo
BINTULU (April 28): Sarawak will adopt the Health Ministry’s new Covid-19 protocol which will take effect from Sunday, the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) said.
It said in its daily Covid-19 update that the decision to use the protocol announced by Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin yesterday, was made after a meeting to review the state’s situation and the measures taken to curb the spread of the virus.
Under the new revised Covid-19 protocol, effective May 1, it will be optional to wear face masks outdoors, but still mandatory indoors and in public transportation including e-hailing services.
However, Khairy said that the ministry encourages the practice of wearing face masks especially for those who are of high-risk such as the elderly and children who are unvaccinated.
He said the enforcement of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342) would continue to be enforced on individuals who fail to adhere to the order to wear face masks indoors.
Other relaxation on the standard operating procedures include the scanning MySejahtera for contact tracing is no longer mandatory.
Check-in allowed at all premises regardless of vaccination status and the MySejahtera app would be retained for Covid-19 reporting, monitoring of those undergoing home isolation.
The MySejahtera system would be improved with new features on other disease hotspots such as dengue, rabies and measles.
Under the new protocol, physical distancing among individuals and groups is no longer necessary as all activities have been allowed with 100 per cent use of space capacity.
For positive Covid-19 cases, they can be released from isolation after the fourth day if the RTK-Antigen test result comes back negative.
Apart from that, SDMC also announced that beginning May 1, it will only be releasing Covid-19 updates on a weekly basis every Monday only.