KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Medical Device Manufacturers Association (Perantim) today called on the public not to engage in any panic buying of face masks.
Its president Johari Abu Kasim said despite the upward trend of Covid-19 cases, panic buying of face masks would could lead to unstable prices, manipulation and speculation on raw material supply and hoarding.
"This is not good for the industry. Local manufacturers of masks have sufficient stocks to meet the local demand.
"Even if there is a sudden increase in demand for medical grade masks, local manufacturers are able to meet this demand within a short span of time," he said in a statement today.
He said the raw materials are sufficient, and the machinery and manpower to manufacture face masks were able to cope with any spike in demand.
Johari said people should also look at the scientific data about the current situation of Covid-19, which did not warrant any panic buying of face masks
"According to the health director-general, 98 per cent of the cases are those with mild symptoms."
On Dec Monday, Health director-general Datuk Dr Muhammad Radzi Abu Hassan said 48 per cent of the cases involved those between the ages of 20 and four, with more than 98 per cent of them only having mild symptoms.
He said a total of 3,626 Covid-19 cases were reported during the 47th Epidemiology Week (ME 47/2023) from Nov 19 to 25, an increase of 57.3 per cent compared to the 2,305 cases recorded from the previous week.