There were also many fake messages circulating on social media, like this one:

To clear the air, the government has finally released a guideline on exactly where and when one needs to wear a face mask.

Clearing the air

​On 23 July, the government announced that they will be enforcing a mandatory face mask rule on public transportation and public spaces.

However, the definition of public transportaition and public spaces was met with plenty of confusion.

During his press briefing on Monday (3 August), Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob has attempted to clear the confusion surrounding the government's mandatory face mask rule.

The public transportation part is very clear cut, Ismail was quoted by Malay Mail as saying.

“I want us to be clear, firstly on public transportation. That’s clear. Such as express buses, the LRT, trains, the hop-on hop-off buses. All public transportation. Taxi, e-hailing. These are all forms of public transportation," he was quoted as saying.

The definition of public places, meanwhile, is a little bit trickier.

One should always wear a face mask when they visit places marked as crowded on the National Security Council website, such as wet markets, farmers’ markets, pasar malam and supermarkets too.

Places such as cinemas and tourist spots are considered crowded public spaces too, Ismail said.

"If we only say ‘public places only’, then football fields are public spots. However, if there is physical distancing that is well spaced-out on the field, there is no need for masks. That’s why we say 'tempat awam yang sesak',” he added.

So, in short: you have to wear a mask at public places with a lot of people, and you don't have to wear a mask at public places with wide, open spaces or where there is good physical distancing.

But then again, it's always better to wear a face mask every time you're stepping out lah.