Azlan Othman

In a press briefing ahead of the 36th National Day celebration, Director of Environmental Health Services at the Ministry of Health (MoH) Dr Hajah Anie Haryani binti Haji Abdul Rahman said that participants and guests should not attend the event if they are feeling unwell.

“We don’t have facilities for participants suffering from fever at the Taman Haji Sir Muda Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien. What we have are facilities for National Day participants who feel dizzy, or acute emergency cases,” she said.

On whether the ongoing coronavirus outbreak would affect the celebration, she said, “Restrictions would only take effect if we enter the mitigation phase, meaning if a case is detected in the country, like the H1N1 in 2009, which occurred around the time of the royal birthday celebration.

“At present, no cases of the coronavirus infection have been detected in Brunei Darussalam, but the MoH is monitoring the situation.

“One should also practise personal hygiene and use sanitiser,” said Dr Hajah Anie Haryani.

“Masks should be worn by those who are ill, to prevent the infection from spreading. Medical personnel will also need to wear masks when treating patients.

“The Ministry of Health, through the Disease Control Division, is monitoring the situation, not just in Brunei, but also regionally. At present, the risk is zero.

“The ministry will be in constant communication with other relevant agencies.”