Selangor Is The Latest State To Consider Mandatory Face Masks

The Selangor state government is mulling over whether to make the wearing of face masks and maintaining physical distance mandatory again if the state sees a spike in COVID-19 cases. This comes as the country is on high alert for a new COVID-19 wave following China’s reopening of its borders on 8 January.

Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari said that the state is closely monitoring cases on a weekly basis. ” If there is a large spread, maybe we will take further action (by making wearing face masks mandatory) including physical distancing and close contact tracing,” he said.

Moreover, the Menteri Besar said his administration plans on using the SELangkah app instead of MySejahtera for contact tracing if the latter is “not ready for close contact tracing”. The state will monitor potential spikes in cases through the FTTIS (find, test, track, isolate and support) strategy.

Selangor isn’t the first state to consider bringing back the face mask measure as Melaka also said earlier this month that it might make mask-wearing compulsory in public areas if cases rise. For now, both Melaka and Selangor are only encouraging the public to wear face masks, but it might still be mandated in the future if the rate of cases actually spike.

Additionally, Amirudin is encouraging individuals to take booster shots to increase immunisation if they haven’t already. This is in line with the federal government’s advice, which has started offering walk-ins for booster shots for those who fall under certain categories, including those who are at high risk and the elderly. Others who are eligible for a booster can make an appointment through MySehtera.

The Selangor government itself has restarted its free Sinovac booster doses through the state-owned SelCare clinics last week. You can walk in for the shots but you can also make an appointment by calling the SelCare hotline at 1-800-22-6600.

(Source: Selangor Journal.)

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