KUALA LUMPUR – The country has entered the endemic transition phase from today onwards, said the Director-General of Health, Tan Sri Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah.
He said, the transition could be achieved following the success of the Covid-19 vaccination programme and the manageable healthcare service system.
However, the declaration of local infection areas is still in force nationwide under Section 11 of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342) until 30 June.
Besides the enforcement of Act 342 during the transition phase, preventive and control measures are also carried out under the provisions of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (Measures Within the Infected Local Areas)(National Recovery Plan)(Transition To Endemic Phase) 2022 that was gazette on 31 March.
“Protocols and preventive orders and controls have been detailed out in the SOP that will be enforced from today onwards.
“The SOP have been simplified from 181 PPN SOP, supported by nine guidelines that explain about the risk of infection, risk assessment and preventive actions which need to be taken by individuals, travellers and those responsible of the premises,” he said in a news statement today.
Dr Noor Hisham said, among the SOP include the usage of face mask at public areas, managing suspected and confirmed cases according to the MOH guidelines and physical distancing.
The SOP also include ensuring sufficient ventilation system, hands hygiene, cleanliness of premises and doing Covid-19 test according to the National Testing Strategy (NTS).
According to him, the SOP also encompassed of vaccination for certain activities, following the operation hours according to their license or permits, using the MySejahtera check-in or MyTrace to help contact tracing.
“The Omicron variant infection rate is higher than the Delta variant and most of the patients experienced milder symptoms, with less serious complications.
“This condition is contributed by the high immunity towards the SARS-CoV-2 virus via the Covid-19 vaccination of natural immunity after the Covid-19 infection.
“Compared to the Delta variant wave from the end of June until October 2021, the Omicron variant wave which started from January until today has shown less death, ICU admission and ventilation support despite the increment of daily cases,” he said.
On the preparedness to enter the endemic transition phase, Dr. Noor Hisham said that the people need to learn to live with the Covid-19 virus in the least disruptive way in their daily living by practicing public health to protect themselves, their family and the community.
According to him, the Covid-19 pandemic management needs to shift from the dependency on government’s intervention such as SOP and law to self-responsibility and community solidarity. -MalaysiaGazette
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