"On the occasion of my birthday tomorrow, April 21, the most special gift for me will be if Malaysians remain staying at home and observe high hygiene standards," said Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah with a smile.

The director-general of Health, who has been the focus of media and Malaysians since the COVID-19 outbreak, turns 57 on Tuesday, April 21.

Every day, Dr Noor Hisham who was born in Sepang, Selangor appears on television at 5 pm, with much-awaited COVID-19 updates and related news.

On the eve of his birthday, Dr Noor Hisham brought good news on the COVID-19 outbreak saying that the number of new positive cases recorded in Malaysia on Monday was the lowest since March 12 with 36 cases and no deaths reported.

Speaking to Bernama, he sent a message asking all Malaysians to stay at home in compliance with the Movement Control Order (MCO) as a birthday gift in an effort to break the COVID-19 infection chain that has has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives worldwide.

-- BERNAMA