KAJANG: The relaxation of standard operating procedures (SOP) that will be announced on Wednesday (April 27) has been deliberated carefully to ensure the safety of the people, says Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

       He said the government did not want to make a mistake and let all the efforts to curb the spread of Covid-19 be in vain.

       "The Health Ministry has discussed the matter thoroughly. We will present it to the Cabinet this Wednesday, and if approved, we will announce it,” he said after launching the Generational End Game Anti-Smoking 18 (Gegar-18) programme at Sekolah SMK Bandar Seri Putra here on Monday (April 25).

       Also present was Education Minister Datuk Dr Radzi Md Jidin.

       On a related note, Khairy said so far a total of 1,939 people had received a second booster shot with most of them getting it on a walk-in basis.

       On the the haj pilgrimage, he said his ministry would issue a new protocol following requirements imposed by the Saudi Arabian government on pilgrims this year.

       "We will also make sure that there are enough health workers to help our pilgrims there. We will provide preparation guidelines soon,” he said.

       A total of 14,306 Malaysian pilgrims are allowed to perform the haj this year.

       Among the requirements is that the pilgrims must not be older than 65, and have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19. – Bernama