Azrul Mohd Khalib, who runs the Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy, said even senior government officials seemed to flaunt the very rules imposed on the general public. “It doesn’t make sense that they tell people to follow SOPs but they and their staff don’t,” he said to FMT.

Yesterday, Bandar Kuching MP Kelvin Yii had urged federal and state authorities to implement “universal masking” on top of social distancing and using hand sanitisers. With about 70% of Covid-19 patients reported to be asymptomatic, face masks were needed to prevent the spread of the virus, he said.

He said the use of face masks should be made mandatory in high-risk areas including markets, malls, hospitals, schools and on public transport.

The head of medical group, Malaysian Medics International, Dr Vikkineshwaran Siva Subramaniam, said the current SOP may be insufficient, especially for asymptomatic patients.

“However, temperature checking may be the most convenient and least invasive option we have. It should also be the individual’s responsibility to remain vigilant and be honest if they are symptomatic or if they may be exposed,“ he said.

Azrul said reusable cloth face masks were more sustainable and cost-effective in the long term, and lamented that a government promise of free masks for all households had not reached most of its intended targets.

“It is obvious that it was never possible to provide each household in the country with at least three masks as originally announced,” he said.

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