Here are the KKM’s newly announced SOPs for wearing face masks.

It’s been almost a month since Malaysia moved into the endemic phase, where we’ve seen many of our restrictions get relaxed over time as we prepare to get back to normal (or at least some semblance of it). And so, with several other foreign countries slowly removing the mask-mandate, Malaysians have been wondering if, or when, our country will be following suit… which then prompted KJ to announce a few new SOPs today regarding the requirements for face masks and MySejahtera scans, amongst other things.

For this one we’ll mostly be highlighting the changes in SOP for wearing face masks, since that’s probably been the biggest thing on everyone’s minds at the moment. So, until the rest of the SOPs are released by the KKM, you can check out the full press conference here.

This brings us to his first announcement, which is that…

Wearing a face mask is optional, but only if you’re outdoors.

In his press conference, KJ announced that the government will no longer be making face masks a requirement, but only if you’re outdoors.

This means that if you’re indoors/in an enclosed place, you will still be required to wear a face mask– whether it’s in a mall, office, or even if you’re using public transport or in an e-hailing vehicle. However, there are exceptions to this rule if you’re alone or if you’re performing/have to show your face for a shoot, and whatnot.

Meanwhile, you will be allowed to go maskless if it’s outdoors; but you are still encouraged to wear a face mask especially if you:

• Are in a crowded area (such as at a Bazaar Ramadhan, Pasar Malam, or at a concert/stadium)
• If you are a high-risk individual or around a high risk individual.
• If you’re showing symptoms

Additionally, there’s no more social distancing and no need to scan MySejahtera anymore!

Yup, you read that right. In accordance with our goal to get back to normal, the government has majorly-relaxed a few more of our mandates, which includes things like how long we’ll need to self-isolate for after testing +ve, and more. We’ll just be touch-n-going on them but here’s a few of the key ones we wanted to include:

• Everyone can enter the premises even without being fully-vaxxed
• You won’t have to scan the MySejahtera QR code anymore
• No more social distancing, full capacity is allowed
• People who tested +ve for C-19 can be released on the 4th day of isolation, but only if they test negative and get assessed by a registered medical professional

And with all of these new changes in mind…

The new SOP changes will take effect on the 1st of May!

It seems like an ongoing trend for our government to make new changes take effect at the start of the month, but we aren’t complaining since it gives us ample time to get informed on the new changes.

Well, it looks like our country is truly starting to get back to normal, which seems to be a huge relief. However, let’s not forget that these SOPs were put in place for a reason, and even though many of the mandates have been relaxed, the responsibility lies on us to ensure that our cases will not reach another spike… potentially landing us in another MCO.