Wear face mask or RM1,000 fine

Beginning yesterday, Aug 1, 2020, the wearing of face mask, especially in crowded areas and places, as well as on public transport, has been made compulsory by the government to curb the spread of COVID-19.

With effect to that, most people can be said to abide by the latest regulation, or risk being slapped with the RM1,000 fine under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988, if they are caught not wearing it.

Observation by Bernama at several locations in the federal capital yesterday found that the people have "disciplined" themselves to donning the face mask, especially at crowded areas or places, as soon as they got out of their vehicles.

The face mask can now be categorised as the most important 'shield' in facing COVID-19, apart from observing physical distancing.

Apart from always ensuring there is supply of face masks in the vehicle, carrying hand sanitiser has also become a new normal in the society.

According to Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, the use of face masks should be coupled with regular handwashing and maintaining safe physical distancing of at least one metre to avoid COVID-19 infection.

He said there are two types of face masks that can be used to prevent the spread of COVID-19, namely the medical and non-medical.

Medical face masks such as the three-ply surgical face mask is used by health workers, the general public with respiratory symptoms, high-risk groups such as the elderly (those aged 60 and above) and people with chronic diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure, he added.

-- BERNAMA