Noting the health ministry’s confirmation of high community transmission, MMA president Dr Subramaniam Muniandy said that targeted mass screenings would detect infections early and prevent further spread of the virus.

“MMA believes that daily cases could be a lot higher as we have not been testing enough,” he said in a statement.

“We won’t know the true extent of community spread until we test the community for prevalence.

“We should not be waiting for people to present symptoms. Rather, we should test and immediately isolate those testing positive, while close contacts are traced and tested.”

Subramaniam also said the government should consider mass vaccinations to interrupt transmission in hotspots.

Stating that the majority of foreign workers tested since the end of last year were not close contacts, he said that upon their screening, several were found to be Covid-19 positive.

Aside from malls, busy transport terminals, convenience stores, markets and Ramadan bazaars were among the 152 premises listed on the HIDE list released on Saturday, all of which have been ordered to close until tomorrow.