PUTRAJAYA (Bernama): "On the occasion of my birthday Tuesday (April 21), the most special gift for me will be if Malaysians remain staying at home and observe high hygiene standards", says Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah with a smile.

The Health director-general, who has been the focus of the media and Malaysians since the Covid-19 outbreak, turns 57 on Tuesday.

Every day, Dr Noor Hisham who was born in Sepang, Selangor, appears on television at 5pm, with much-awaited Covid-19 updates and related news.

On the eve of his birthday, Dr Noor Hisham brought good news on the outbreak, saying that the number of new positive cases recorded in Malaysia on Monday (April 20) was the lowest since March 12, with 36 cases and no deaths reported.

Speaking to Bernama, he sent a message asking all Malaysians to stay at home in compliance with the movement control order (MCO) as a birthday gift in an effort to break the Covid-19 infection chain that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives worldwide.

Dr Noor Hisham described the request as one of his most important birthday gifts.

He was listed among three of the world's top doctors and public health officials for his approach in handling the Covid-19 pandemic.

The two other doctors, who were listed by the China Global TV Network (CGTN), are United States' infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci and New Zealand's director-general of health Ashley Bloomfield.

CGTN said it has crowned Dr Noor Hisham as one of the top doctors in the world for his straightforward and calm approach in handling the Covid-19 outbreak in Malaysia.

Before this, said CGTN, hardly anybody knew of Dr Noor Hisham, and the other two doctors but they have now become the most "trusted" sources of information on the pandemic in their respective countries.

Dr Noor Hisham, who is also a surgeon, holds a Master's Degree in Surgery and a Doctorate of Medicine from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), was appointed as Health director-general on March 1,2013 replacing Datuk Seri Dr Hasan Abdul Rahman. – Bernama