Continue compliance with SOP until herd immunity is achieved - Health DG

KUALA LUMPUR: Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah has called on all parties including individuals who have received the COVID-19 vaccine to continue their compliance with the standard operating procedures (SOP) implemented to curb the spread of the deadly virus until herd immunity is achieved.

He said adherence to the SOP and measures to ensure public health should be continued even though Phase 1 of the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme is underway.

Phase 1 of the immunisation programme kicked off on Feb 24 which is expected to involve 30,000 frontline workers nationwide.

Dr Noor Hisham said measures implemented to curb the spread of the pandemic, including international border control, the enforcement of various SOPs as well as COVID-19 testing and screening activities would be evaluated and discussed from time to time at the National Security Council (MKN) special meeting.

"The decision to allow interstate or interdistrict travels, for example, depends on the evaluation of some of these factors by the government.

“Among the key indicators to be evaluated in this risk assessment are the current situation of the COVID-19 daily cases; current trends and values of R-Naught (Rt); trends and current fatality situation due to the pandemic as well as the current bed capacity used for COVID-19 patients,” he said in a statement on the development of COVID-19, here today.

He said the current situation of infection among health personnel and COVID-19 laboratory testing and surveillance would also be among the indicators to be evaluated.

Previously, Dr Noor Hisham was reported to have said that the Ministry of Health would consider easing the restrictions enforced on interstate and interdistrict travels if 70 to 80 per cent of the people had been inoculated with the COVID-19 vaccine.

-- BERNAMA