KUALA LUMPUR: Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah urged the public to prepare for the worst in facing the current COVID-19 wave following an exponential trend indicated by the COVID-19 graph in this country.

"The rise in cases started from April 1 and could trigger a vertical surge. We need to prepare for the worst. Please help us by staying at home. Only together, we can break the chain of infection," he said in his official Twitter account today.

Dr Noor Hisham advised the public to stay at home and comply strictly with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) in case of an emergency or attendance at work.

Yesterday, Malaysia recorded 6,509 new COVID-19 cases and reported its highest daily death toll from the viral infection to date after 61 fatalities were recorded in the past 24 hours.

-- BERNAMA