Avoid mass gathering for 6 months, Malaysians told

Malaysians should avoid mass gatherings for the next six months in a bid to stem the spread of the coronavirus, the country's health chief said on Friday.

“On mass gatherings, from six-months to a year, we can see that we discourage mass gatherings,” Noor Hisham Abdullah said at a news conference, according to daily Malay Mali.

Abdullah said Malaysia discovered new 217 coronavirus cases bringing the country’s tally to 3,333.

In a statement on Twitter, he said 53 people have so far died in the country due to the virus, known as COVID-19.

Urging people to avoid mass gatherings for the next six months, Abdullah said that a total of 827 people have been discharged from the hospitals after recovering from the disease.

A total of 138 Malaysian healthcare workers were infected by COVID-19, state-run Bernama news quoted the health chief as saying.

“Fifty-eight of the cases [42%] were linked to wedding receptions attended by individuals who also attended the Tabligh gathering in Sri Petaling,” he added.

Since appearing in Wuhan, China, last December, the coronavirus has spread to at least 181 countries and regions, according to figures compiled by the U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.

The data shows more than 1 million cases have been reported worldwide so far, with the global death over 54,100, and more than 218,800 recoveries.