IPOH: The public should perform the Malaysian hand-over-heart gesture instead of shaking hands when greeting each other to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), said Deputy Health Minister Dr Lee Boon Chye. "I would like to stress here that the (virus) is not airborne, but (is spread) through droplets or contact. When someone gets infected with coronavirus, but without coughing and sneezing, people around him would not get the virus. Dr Lee said that the ministry is encouraging the public to avoid skin-to-skin contact, such as performing handshakes, as you might touch an infected person and become ill.“We can practice ‘Salam Cara Malaysia’ (the hand-over-heart gesture) instead of the handshake to avoid spreading the virus. The coronavirus has claimed at least 720 lives since it emerged in Wuhan, China on Dec 31, last year.

Source: New Strait Times February 08, 2020 06:33 UTC