KUALA LUMPUR, May 15 — Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah is advising all Muslims celebrating Hari Raya Aidilfitri to have a homely, closed-door celebration this year.

He said despite the government saying a maximum of 20 people are allowed in a house at a time, Malaysians should decide for themselves based on their living situation if having that many people in close proximity is a good idea or not.

“The number 20 is relative so forget about the number,” he said during his daily Covid-19 briefing today.

“Twenty in a small apartment is not feasible and goes against what we are advising. More importantly, we must stick to the SOPs and comply with the 3Cs (confined spaces, crowded places and close contacts) and 3Ws (wear a face mask, wait at least six-feet apart when standing in line and wash your hands frequently, and for at least 20 seconds with soap and water).”

Hari Raya Aidilfitri falls on May 24 and Dr Noor Hisham said this year’s Raya will be a “unique” one.

Visiting loved ones will have to be put on hold if it is unnecessary, said Dr Noor Hisham, before asking Malaysians to think about the risks that they are exposing their family members to, especially children and the elderly, if they were to come into close contact with a Covid-19 carrier.

This comes after Saudi Arabia took a drastic step by announcing it will enforce a countrywide 24-hour curfew during the five-day holiday period due to the coronavirus.

A full lockdown will be imposed from May 23 to 27 following the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, the country’s interior ministry said in a statement published by the official Saudi Press Agency on Tuesday.

Dr Noor Hisham said the Saudi authorities had to take these steps after seeing a spike in cases. However, in Malaysia, he expressed hope that the rakyat will know how to take matters into their own hands to protect themselves.

“If there is limited space in your home, my advice is to tell your children not to come back. Do video conferencing to talk to them instead.

“Saudi incidences are very high, and that’s why the Health Ministry is advocating a closed-door Raya,” said Dr Noor Hisham.

“These are unprecedented times and it’ll be an unprecedented Raya, but at least you have the chance to protect your family by imposing your own curfew at home.

“Make sure no outsiders come in and it’s also a good initiative to tell relatives in red zones not to come home as well for risk of infection.”