THE Malacca government will not make it compulsory to wear masks indoors in most public places following the declining trend of Covid-19 cases in the state. 

State Health and Anti-Drugs Committee Chairman Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh said the decision was made after a two-week observation carried out by the relevant authorities showed that there was a high level of awareness among the people as they would take their own initiative to wear masks indoors or in crowded places to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. 

“Alhamdulillah, the number of Covid-19 cases recorded in Malacca within those two weeks showed only 250 cases in the first week and declined to 217 cases in the second week. 

“When the state government encouraged the wearing of face masks, the number of cases had declined further to only 180 cases in the following week,” he told reporters today. 

Elaborating, Akmal said despite the declining trend, the state government still encouraged locals and tourists in Malacca to keep wearing masks, maintain a safe distance, and use hand sanitiser or wash their hands frequently. 

At the same time, he said the state government also encouraged the people in the state to take the first and second booster doses. 

“Taking this booster dose is one of the ways to increase their antibodies and they can just walk into any of the 32 health clinics and three hospitals in the state for the first and second booster doses,” he said. – Bernama, January 16, 2023.