By Ashwin Kumar
SHAH ALAM, March 24 — A Public Safety and Health Consultant today said it is not compulsory to wear face masks in public areas, following confusion over the matter in light of the movement control order (MCO) which took effect last week.
Public Safety and Health Consultant Ts Mohd Soffian Osman said the public only needs to wear a mask if they have symptoms such as cough, cold or flu.
“The purpose is to prevent the symptoms from spreading to others. However, it is advisable for those with symptoms to stay out of public places and stay at home instead,” he told Selangor Journal when contacted today.
Mohd Soffian added the usage of both face masks and hand sanitisers are not required in the current phase of MCO as long as the public complies with the order by staying at home only.
He was responding to some confusion among the public on the matter as some premises have insisted on their visitors to wear the masks.
Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah had on Monday said that only frontliners and those with flu symptoms need to put on the face masks.
He said the Health Ministry follows the World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines on the wearing of face masks outside of the home.
Dr Noor Hisham was asked if there was a ruling that people must wear masks when they are on the road or in public areas during the movement control order period.
Under the guidelines issued by the Health Ministry, face masks are only needed to be worn by individuals who have respiratory symptoms (including cough and cold-like symptoms) or the frontliners in the healthcare sector as well as the authorities.
