KUALA LUMPUR, June 8 — The people are currently in the phase of living with the Covid-19 virus and in the transition towards continuing life as usual (normalcy), said Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.
Dr Dzulkefly said the decision on the classification was made during a post-cabinet meeting at the Health Ministry (MOH)-level recently.
“In the post-cabinet meeting of the MOH, we made a decision that we will now live with the virus. We take the attitude to start this phase of living with the virus like all other viruses such as influenza and chikugunya.
“It means we are back to normalcy. If anything happens, MOH is always monitoring. In preparation for the future, we are always ready to bounce back to action. For now, we are back to normalcy and communication will be made from time to time if there are cases,” he said.
He said this in a press conference after officiating the national-level Gotong Royong Mega Fight Aedes 1.0 programme in conjunction with the Asean Dengue Day 2024 celebration at the Armed Forces Family Housing (RKAT) in Setia Wira Village, here, today.
Dr Dzulkefly also advised the people to always be aware of the latest developments of Covid-19 by visiting data.moh.gov.my to enable them to monitor the status of outbreaks in the country.
“What I want to say is we are back to normal, if you have symptoms go see a doctor for consultation and treatment, if you are in public areas always protect others by wearing your mask,” he said.
Meanwhile, Dr Dzulkefly said MOH will add nine more new localities for the Aedes Wolbachia mosquito release project involving several states in the Peninsula, including the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, this year.
He said the initiative was a follow-up to the success and effectiveness of the project in fighting dengue cases in the country since it was implemented in 2019.
“We will increase (locality of Wolbachia mosquito release). Our focus is in Kelantan, Pahang, Penang, Melaka, Johor and including the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur. I will ensure that construction sites will also be among the focus hotspots.
“Until now, 35 release localities have been implemented across the country and after four years of implementation, the number of dengue cases has decreased between 45 to 100 per cent in the 19 release localities that have qualified to be evaluated,” he said.
Dr Dzulkefly said the Aedes Wolbachia mosquito release project at the Setia Wira Village camp here also showed an 87.2 per cent reduction in dengue cases since it started in 2020.
Besides, he said the MOH has also placed an application for allocation in the 2025 Budget for the implementation of the Aedes Wolbachia mosquito release project.
In another development, Dr Dzulkefly said for the period from January to June 1, 2024, a total of 64,629 dengue cases were reported compared to 48,723 cases for the same period last year, with an increase of 15,906 cases or 32.6 per cent.
He said during that period, as many as 48 deaths involving dengue cases were reported compared to 34 deaths in 2023.
— Bernama