PUTRAJAYA: The Health Ministry is preparing four months in advance for a possible spike of Covid-19 infections in Malaysia due to the arrival of winter in several other parts of the world.
Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said although Malaysia's infection rate is now under control, developments in other countries, such as India, South Korea, Japan, Spain and France, demonstrate that an increase in cases during cold weather conditions must be considered.
"So, our concern is that there would be an increase in cases during that period and due to this, we have to make preparations," he told Bernama when met after attending the National Day 2020 celebrations at Dataran Pahlawan Negara here, today.
At the same time, Dr Noor Hisham said a mutation of the Covid-19 virus has made it more infectious, and as such, he urges Malaysians to always be on their guard and strictly comply with standard operating procedures (SOPs).
He said as there is still no proven vaccine in sight, the ministry will continue to carry out control measures.
"Through these measures, the people must comply with SOPs; while on our part, we will prepare in terms of (freeing up) laboratories, clinics and hospitals in the event of a caseload surge," he said.
Through its public healthcare system, Malaysia has been able to contain the pandemic via early detection of clusters, Dr Noor Hisham said.
"However, we will still need strong cooperation from the people when it comes to breaking the chain of Covid-19 infection," he said.