KUALA LUMPUR: The government is considering to make the wearing of face masks in public places mandatory, said Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

Urging the public to remain vigilant, the prime minister said the government would announce the decision once the relevant rules had been finalised.

"As I've mentioned before, the RMCO's (Recovery Movement Control Order) success depends on ourselves; and our awareness, attitude and practise (of the new normal) that must be continued," he said in a live telecast today.

In ensuring compliance, he said heftier penalties would be imposed on those found violating rules under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act, which also covered the 14-day mandatory quarantine for those returning from abroad.

"As many of the cases are imported, the Health Ministry has stepped up control at the country's entries, including temperature screening and imposing PCR tests three days prior to leaving for Malaysia, and referring symptomatic people to hospitals.

"Those undergoing the 14-day mandatory quarantine must ensure full discipline and never leave home, while carrying out self-check using the MySejahtera app. They are also required to undergo (second) screening on the 13th day of the quarantine," he said, adding that those returning from abroad may be placed at quarantine centres if necessary.

He advised the public to heed the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), enforced under the RMCO to break the chain of Covid-19 infections, saying that individuals and families were now frontliners and had the duty to remind each other in taking preventive measures.

Muhyiddin listed out the Covid-19 preventive steps including social distancing, wearing face mask in public, maintaining good personal hygiene, avoid physical contact, as well as avoiding attending mass gathering, confined and crowded places.

MCO, which was enforced from March 18, saw travel bans, as well as restrictions imposed on all sectors including businesses and social activities, following the declaration of Covid-19 as a pandemic by World Health Organisation (WHO) on March 11.

Conditional MCO was then enforced from May 4 and replaced by RMCO from June 10 to Aug 31, which saw sectors reopening in stages.

While Malaysia has been successful in keeping the number of Covid-19 cases low, thanks to effective precautionary measures and patient management system, the authorities has now raised the alarm while working towards preventing a second wave of the deadly virus.

This follows Covid-19 cases in the country returning to the double digits, with the Health Ministry reporting 15 new infections and four new clusters on Sunday.

Covid-19 containment remains a struggle for some countries and resurgence was reported in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea as business activities resumed.

Number of Covid-19 cases continue to rise globally, with around 14.63 million cases and some 609,000 Covid-19 deaths recorded so far.

https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2020/07/610109/government-mulling-mandatory-use-face-masks-public