However, health minister Khairy Jamaluddin said this increase was expected with the reopening of all economic sectors, schools reopening and the resumption of face-to-face learning in kindergartens and child care centres.

“There is a sharp increase, but it is to be expected. Last year, the movement control order stopped the people from going out freely.

“As such, the number of HFMD cases was expected to increase and it’s back to normal now.

“It is also a reminder to the public to take care of their personal hygiene because for two years we only thought of Covid-19,” he told reporters after attending an Aidilfitri open house here today.

As such, he advised parents to make use of the MySejahtera app as it has a feature which provides information on infectious diseases. This can be helpful to avoid being infected by the disease.

“MySejahtera is not to detect, but report cases confirmed by the district health office. So users can check how many cases there are in the community,” he said.

On Covid-19, Khairy said the number of cases had slightly increased after almost two weeks of Syawal and advised the public to continue wearing face masks when in crowded places.

“When any place is crowded, even if it is an open area, wear a face mask. If we practise this, then I believe we will be able to reduce the number of infections,” he added.