PUTRAJAYA: Healthcare workers who have been working non-stop in the fight against Covid-19 can breathe a sigh of relief.
They will be given rest days in stages now that the number of cases has declined.
Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the frontliners would also be given counselling to prepare them for the eventuality of a spike in cases.
"We prepare for the worst, but hope for the best. This is a challenge not only for the medical frontliners but also the Health Ministry personnel.
"We are the last line of defence to prevent a big disaster, huge number of fatalities and a sudden spike in cases from happening in the country," he said, pointing out that medical frontliners had been working day and night for five months.
He said it had reached a point where many of them could hardly differentiate between weekend and weekday.
He said the sacrifices of all those involved had paid off with declining number of new cases, and patients in the wards, including in the Intensive Care Units (ICUs), also on the decline.
Dr Noor Hisham said the ministry planned to restrategise its Covid-19 approach in the next couple of weeks.
He expressed his appreciation to all other frontliners, including the police, armed forces, non- governmental organisations and other agencies, who had worked hard in the fight against Covid-19.
He said only 30 new cases were recorded yesterday.
The figure was the lowest not only throughout the Movement Control Order, enforced on March 18, but also since March 12, which saw only nine new cases recorded.
The new cases bring the number of active infections to 1,710 and the tally of cases in Malaysia to 6,383 since the outbreak began.
The ministry reported one death, involving a 47-year-old man, who was warded in a private hospital on March 15 and transferred to Sungai Buloh Hospital one day later after he tested positive for the virus.
He died at 2.10am yesterday, bringing the death toll in Malaysia to 106.
A total of 4,567 patients had recovered from Covid-19 infection.
Twenty-four patients are being treated at ICUs, with eight requiring ventilator support.
Dr Noor Hisham said the ministry would, from now on, target foreign workers for Covid-19 screenings.
The focus will be on those from the red zones in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor.
He said the ministry's policy was to ensure targeted foreign workers were screened.
"It will be based on the locality. After we identify them, we will screen them. We encourage the employers to facilitate the screenings for foreign workers."