Malaysians urged to put off all mass gatherings

KUALA LUMPUR • Malaysia's Health Ministry called yesterday for mass gatherings to be postponed after at least 12 coronavirus cases were linked to a three-day religious event in the capital attended by some 10,000 people from several countries.

The authorities in Muslim-majority Malaysia, which has reported 149 infections of the virus, are tracking about 5,000 citizens who took part in the Feb 27 to March 1 gathering of Islamic missionaries at a mosque on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur.

"All mass gatherings should be postponed to minimise the spread of Covid-19," the Health Ministry said on Twitter, referring to the disease caused by the coronavirus.

Eleven of the cases linked to the meeting have cropped up among those from Brunei who attended the event - the country's first coronavirus cases. About 90 people from Brunei attended the sessions.

Brunei's first case was a 53-year-old man who returned from Kuala Lumpur on March 3 and started showing symptoms four days later, its Health Ministry said.

The 12th case linked to the Kuala Lumpur meeting is a Malaysian, a health official said.

Singapore has said that two Singaporeans who attended the meeting have caught the virus.

Malaysia's health director-general, Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, said those experiencing respiratory infection symptoms were advised not to attend programmes that involved crowded places, including religious activities.

"Those with symptoms are advised to adopt social distancing by standing at least 1m away from another individual," he said when asked what advice the ministry would give after the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the disease a pandemic on Wednesday.

In a bid to stop the spread of the virus, Malaysia's Religious Affairs Minister Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri has issued guidelines for holding Friday prayers at mosques, including shortening sermons and for the ablution rites to be carried out at home if possible, so that people would not crowd around taps to wash themselves before prayers.

Datuk Seri Zulkifli said that Friday prayers would be cancelled and replaced by regular afternoon prayers only in a situation where the pandemic spreads uncontrollably in the country.

The former Federal Territories mufti said it is also subject to the pandemic showing its impact on an area, or if many members of a congregation test positive for the coronavirus, or if restrictions are issued by the relevant authorities, such as the Ministry of Health.

Meanwhile, the new Malaysian government has launched a special fund to provide financial aid to those directly affected by the coronavirus outbreak.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said that for a start, RM1 million (S$329,000) had been channelled into the fund to help unemployed Covid-19 patients and those under 14-day quarantine.

"We don't want their lives to be affected. So, this is one type of humanitarian aid we are giving," he said, as quoted by Bernama news agency on Wednesday.

"If we can raise funds from the people, whatever we collect will be given to those eligible for the aid," he told a news conference after chairing the first Cabinet meeting of the Perikatan Nasional government.

In Penang, the first positive coronavirus case reported in the state has led to shoppers dashing for toilet rolls, instant noodles and dried food items.

"I think most people are buying for the sake of buying. They get into panic-buying mode, just like those in Singapore and Hong Kong," said a housewife who wished to be known only as Hing. "My friends called me on Tuesday night to inform me that toilet rolls were sold out in many supermarkets."

At a supermarket in Bayan Baru, Penang, housewife Lynn Ooi was disappointed to find that toilet rolls had been wiped clean from the shelves.

"I came to restock some of my daily essentials at home such as toilet rolls and dried food.

"These are items that we use daily, so I thought that it would be better to stock up in times like these," said Ms Ooi, 56.

REUTERS, THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK