The director general of the Ministry of Health, Noor Hisham Abdullah, said thermal scanners were being used to screen travellers at border points, and that the Malaysian health authorities were placed on high alert.[78] Malaysian public have been reminded by local authorities to take precautionary measures in the wake of the virus threat with those travelling to China have been advised to stay away from animal farms and markets in the country and to not eat raw or semi-cooked meats.[79] Following several earlier suspected cases in Sabah, all direct flights between the Sabah's capital of Kota Kinabalu and Wuhan were indefinitely stopped until the virus is able to be contained by the authorities in China.[80]