ANY ruling still in place on the wearing of masks should be removed altogether, said former deputy health minister Dr Lee Boon Chye.

He told The Malaysian Insight the fear of contracting Covid-19 has gone and most people now no longer wear masks.

While he questioned the veracity of the daily Covid-19 cases reported by the Health Ministry, Lee said the “triple-digit” daily cases showed that the worst of the pandemic is over.

He said people no longer report when they are Covid-19 positive and were passing the infection off as just a bout of fever and common cold.

The government on August 1, 2020 announced the wearing of the face mask outdoors was an option but it made it mandatory for those who test positive for the infection, when in public transport and in medical facilities.

Lee said the time has come for the rules in these three categories to go as the statistics on hospitalisation, serious cases and mortality rates “are very low”.

“This is coupled with the fact that we now have herd immunity. Almost everybody is vaccinated.”

That, Lee pointed out, had resulted in a significant reduction in the severity of infections and a slower rate of transmission.

“The government should return people’s lives back to what they were before the pandemic.”

He said worldwide, many countries have opened up, including China which saw a spike in infections last year.

“Have you seen people wearing masks at parties and large gatherings? There are no reports that cases have spiked as a result of such gatherings.

“Therefore the rule requiring the wearing of a mask when taking public transport is redundant. It should go.”

But Lee said it would be wise to be cautious of the rule in hospitals.

“Maybe it should stay for another one or two months.”

He said this is due to the fear of “respiratory infections brought about by patients with cross-infection”.

Health experts in neighbouring Singapore have suggested that it was time for their government to lift the mandatory wearing of masks in public transportation and medical venues.

They said that the measures were no longer relevant as the country’s outbreak control has been effective and people have gone on to lead normal lives.

Universiti Malaya’s Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Dr Moy Foong Ming, is all for lifting the wearing of the masks in public transport.

Moy said in the case of hospitals, “it probably is still necessary as health care workers might worry about their vulnerability to the virus”.

However, what was important, Moy said, is that people still need to educate themselves on the infection and when they have to wear the mask.

She said the need to wear the mask could be abolished altogether if people were socially responsible and understood when they should wear a mask.

“If they have the infection, they should mask up to protect those around them.”

On May 1 last year, the Ministry of Health lifted the mandatory requirement to wear a mask outdoors but it was still required in public places indoors.

Former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the decision was due to the low risk of infection as the outdoors were well ventilated.

On September 7 of the same year, Khairy lifted the mandatory wearing of masks indoors.

He said it was now an option for people whether to mask up or not indoors. –  February 9, 2023.