KUALA LUMPUR: Some experts believe that Malaysia could soon be ready to take the next step in its transition to endemicity by loosening its face mask mandate, which has been in place since March 2020.
However, others preached caution, noting that the data suggest that there are still some ways to go before the universal mask mandate can be dropped altogether.
Universiti Putra Malaysia's epidemiologist and public health expert Associate Professor Dr Malina Osman said the country's improving Covid-19 situation could warrant a review of the mask mandate.
Dr Malina, who had served in the Health Ministry's Public Health Division, said the authorities can opt to drop the mask mandate for most indoor spaces within the next one to two weeks.
On the Singaporean government's recent announcement that it would soon drop the use of face masks for some indoor settings, she said she agreed with the move.
"I am inclined to agree with Malaysia emulating Singapore. The current endemic transition phase has been ongoing for almost five months," she said.
"Data analysis has found that all indicators on active and new cases, numbers in intensive care units (ICUs) and deaths are within a manageable range."
She said the number of Covid-19 patients warded in ICUs nationwide hit a peak of 1,502 at the height of the Delta variant wave in the second quarter of last year.
At present, only 69 patients are being treated in ICUs.
"Even with threats of Omicron subvariants and recent potential spike in cases (sixth wave), the situation remains under control. The wave is now registering a decreasing pattern.
"In the past five months, the presence of new clusters and the impact of Covid-19 infections have not been as serious as what we have experienced during the Delta or Alpha Beta waves, when vaccines were not available.
"This is despite the prevalent levels of non-compliance with the standard operating procedures in Malaysia, as well as the average and discouraging uptake for the third and fourth boosters, respectively."
She said the fact that borders were opened, tourists and business travellers welcomed back and pilgrims being allowed to travel for haj in batches to Saudi Arabia and return back home without much incident meant that the situation was under control.
On Sunday, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said face masks would soon be required only on public transports, where people are in prolonged close contact in a crowded space, and in healthcare settings, like clinics, hospitals, and residential and nursing homes, where there are vulnerable people.
Lee, however, did not state when the mandate would be dropped.
Fellow epidemiologist Datuk Dr Awang Bulgiba Awang Mahmud said the decision to drop the universal use of face masks, often regarded as the first line of defence against easily transmissible respiratory diseases, needed to be guided by data.
"Official data indicates that more than 80 per cent of the population have been vaccinated with two doses, although there is vaccine effectiveness variability with the different types of vaccines that we have used.
"However, only 50 per cent of the population have been boosted, leaving a large segment of the population with sub-optimal immunity, especially against newer variants.
"Singapore, on the other hand, reports that more than 90 per cent of its population have been vaccinated (mainly with mRNA vaccines) and nearly 80 per cent of its population have been boosted.
"Large segments of our population are still vulnerable to severe Covid-19 infections. According to official numbers, our Covid-19 death rate per million people is three times that of Singapore, possibly due to our low booster rate. In short, we are not yet ready to remove the indoor mask mandate," said the Universiti Malaya professor.
Public health specialist Dr Safiya Amaran also advised caution, adding that mandatory face mask requirements should only be dropped after a six-month period when mortality rates plateau.
"If you look at the mortality rates, it averages about 10 deaths a day now and has been stable since May. It was still quite high in March and April, so we need more time to observe how this goes before making such a crucial decision," she said, adding that the earliest review on the mandate decision can be made only at the end of the year.
On Tuesday, Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah told the New Straits Times that there were no plans yet to emulate Singapore in loosening the face mask mandate.
"No, not yet ready. It's status quo at the moment," he said in a brief reply to a question's on the nation's preparedness and relevant indicators to remove the mandate.
Outdoor usage of face masks stopped being mandatory in Malaysia since May 1.
Early last month, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin cautioned the public that the authorities could reintroduce compounds on those who failed to wear face masks in closed spaces if Covid-19 cases continued to spike.
He said ministry officers observed that people had become nonchalant with regards to wearing face masks indoors, which was still compulsory.