KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 6 — Media practitioners have been urged to comply with the standard operation procedures (SOP) set by the government to control and avoid the proliferation of Covid-19.
National Union of Journalists Malaysia (NUJM) president Farah Marshita Abdul Patah said this was important because a media practitioner was found positive with Covid-19 after covering the Sabah State Elections (PRN) recently.
“Any media personnel who has just returned from a risky area or has Covid-19 symptoms is urged to quickly undergo screening tests at the hospital and to comply with the directive on mandatory quarantine.
“NUJM reminds every media personnel to always wear face masks when making coverages other than using hand sanitisers and looking after their personal hygiene.
“Remember, we are all frontline personnel and each and every one of us has an important role to deliver information to the public and look after the country,” she said in a statement yesterday.
Meanwhile, Gerakan Media Merdeka (Geramm), through a statement on Facebook, urged the co-operation of all quarters, especially national leaders inviting the media to cover an event, to find out their health status.
“If there is doubt, prompt explanation should be given so that preventive measures can be taken by the media practitioners on duty who are at risk of being the close contacts of the individual in question.
“It cannot be denied that the hectic pace of the national leaders lately has indirectly raised the risk of infections especially if there were records of journeys to districts registering a high number of positive cases.
“The announcement of their health status in the social media can help journalists and the public who have interacted with them,” said Geramm.
— Bernama
