PETALING JAYA: Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin (pic) has issued a “not so gentle reminder” to those refusing to keep their masks on, especially politicians.

       Khairy said that more and more of his political colleagues were being seen in photos at meetings without their masks on despite the fact that some of them have underlying health issues.

       He also warned Malaysians against letting the country become like the United Kingdom, which is now experiencing a new wave of Covid-19 infections, in part due to the people’s “obstinate refusal” to wear masks.

       “Not so gentle reminder. Keep your masks on. Especially politicians.

       “More and more of my colleagues are being seen in photos at meetings without masks on.

       “Many politicians have diabetes, hypertension and are probably obese.

       “If you get Covid-19, even with the vaccine, it’s not going to be fun and games.

       “The UK is experiencing a wave, in part, because of their obstinate refusal to mask up. Don’t be like the UK. Just mask up,” Khairy posted on his Instagram Stories yesterday.

       On Thursday, he had said the downward trend of daily Covid-19 cases, which has hovered between 7,000 to around 6,000 over the past week, is expected to increase soon, in part due to cross-state travels.

       At a press conference on Thursday, Khairy said the ministry projected an average of 7,576 cases over the next five days.

       He also reported that three states, namely Kuala Lumpur, the Federal Territory of Putrajaya and Negri Sembilan, had recorded an increase since the government lifted the cross-state restrictions on Oct 11.

       Yesterday, Malaysia logged 5,828 new Covid-19 cases, bringing the cumulative number of infections to 2,426,050 since the outbreak began early last year.