Dr Noor Hisham To Address COVID-19 Updates From Home As He Undergoes Self-Quarantine
He is expected to practise self-quarantine until 16 October.
By Yap Wan Xiang — 06 Oct 2020, 03:23 PM
Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah is currently under self-quarantine for 14 days, thus, the usual press conference for COVID-19 live updates will be slightly different within this period
According to Malay Mail, Dr Noor Hisham has to practise self-quarantine at home because he was exposed to a COVID-19 positive Cabinet minister.
It is believed that the minister is Religious Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri, who admitted to having tested positive for the virus yesterday, 5 October.
Both Dr Noor Hisham and Dr Zulkifli had on 3 October attended the National Security Council (NSC) meeting.
The meeting was also attended by a handful of Cabinet ministers, top officials, and Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, the latter of whom has been ordered to undergo a Home Surveillance Order (HSO) as well.
Malaysiakini reported that the group will be under HSO until next Friday, 16 October.
With Dr Noor Hisham under HSO, he will provide updates on the country's COVID-19 development from the comfort of his home
This would mean the usual press conference attended by members of the media at the Ministry of Health (MOH) in Putrajaya will no longer be conducted during this period.
"The MOH's Facebook page will do a live broadcast of the D-G's press conference today, 6 October, at 5.30pm from his home without the presence of the media," said a corporate communications representative.
Reporters are told to prepare questions ahead so that Dr Noor Hisham will answer them during the live broadcast.
Such an arrangement is the first for Malaysia since it entered the Movement Control Order (MCO) in March
Throughout the MCO, Dr Noor Hisham had been giving live press conferences on national television, which were also made available online through official channels.
The press conference is where Malaysians nationwide get the latest information on the numbers pertaining to new COVID-19 cases, deaths, cumulative cases, recovered cases, and other vital developments.
However, once the number of cases had gone down in the country, Dr Noor Hisham announced on 13 June that there will not be a daily press conference from thereon.
Days without the press conference are then substituted with a live broadcast containing all the same important updates aided by visuals of various infographics and charts.
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