Two experts FMT spoke to also warned that Zuraida’s views could mislead the public.

Dr Zainal Ariffin Omar said it had been proven that regular washing of hands helps prevent the spread of Covid-19 as it was focused on parts of the body that would likely come into contact with the virus.

Zainal, who is president of the Malaysian Public Health Physicians’ Association, also said hand washing was an “effective, low cost” exercise that could be done frequently.

“On the other hand, public sanitisation is not evidence-based, executed in an ad hoc manner and not frequently, maybe once or twice in a very wide area,” he said. “This exercise is not effective. At the same time, it involves high costs and use of public funds.”

Tee Eng Ong, president of the Malaysian Association of Environmental Health, said a person’s hands could be sanitised whenever they were exposed to a virus but a building and the environment inside it could be contaminated again due to re-exposure.

“The re-exposure to the virus could originate from infected individuals walking into the building or due to poor ventilation,” he said.

He added that views such as Zuraida’s could give people a false sense of security, causing them to let their guard down.

Ong warned that other problems such as water and air contamination could arise if the proper procedures were not in place.

“Sanitising or disinfecting must also be based on established guidelines.

“Apparently, there are no standard sanitising guidelines for public places that are recommended or published by the housing and local government ministry.”

In a recent media interview, Zuraida defended her public sanitisation exercises against frequent criticism, saying: “We sanitise our hands. Why not sanitise a building?”

Health experts have argued the exercise went against guidelines issued by the World Health Organization (WHO).