KUCHING: The use of face masks in public places should be made mandatory, said Education, Science and Technological Research Assistant Minister Dr Annuar Rapaee.

This should be the case until an effective vaccine for Covid-19 surfaces and is ready for use, Dr Annuar, who is a physician, said.

“The percentage of carriers who have no symptoms, but are spreading the virus, is high — at six to eighteen per cent.

“Once a person coughs, there can be some 3,000 water droplets that may contain the coronavirus. This is also not helped by the fact that not many of us can avoid going outside,” he wrote on a Facebook post yesterday.

Dr Annuar said that there are also arguments on the use of face masks in public places which is not needed for those who are not sick and do not present any symptoms.

However, he said that there is data suggesting that most countries have flattened the curve of Covid-19 infections by promoting the use of face masks in public.

“The use of face masks is to prevent the spread of the virus as well as to prevent a person from contracting it. Stay away from anyone who is not wearing a face mask,” he added.

Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah on May 4 said that although the Ministry of Health (MOH) encourages people to wear masks, at the moment it is not compulsory.