HEALTH Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said there has been no talk yet of reinstating the Movement Control Order (MCO).
He said he was aware of public concern about the rising number of Covid-19 cases in the country.
“We are hoping we will be able to make it through this situation without having to repeat restrictions imposed the last time like the MCO,” he told a press conference at the ministry today.
He said the ministry had prepared a five-point strategy to deal with the matter.
The first goal would be early detection of Covid-19 cases and SARS-CoV-2 variants, while the second would be community empowerment through the practice of TRIIS, which stands for Test, Report, Isolate, Inform, and Seek.
The third move would be the monitoring of health facilities, and the management and control of Covid-19 cases, especially with regard to high-risk groups, while the fourth target was community empowerment through effective communication.
He said the final step would be the digitisation of the healthcare system in pandemic management through the MySejahtera application.
A total of 20,696 new cases of Covid-19 were recorded during Epidemiological Week 50 (December 10-16, 2023).
Dzulkefly said Malaysia was still at the endemic stage and gave the assurance that all health facilities were ready for any eventuality, including supporting agencies like non-governmental organisations, the military, and others.
“There’s nothing to be alarmed about but we also need to be cautious,” he said while advising the public to return to all the Covid-19 prevention practices like constantly washing hands, wearing masks, and avoiding congested and poorly ventilated areas.
He also advised those with symptoms to carry out self-tests and report their results through MySejahtera, and if found positive to inform close contacts while undergoing home surveillance.
He said patients must check in to the nearest health facility if their situation worsened, especially those classified under categories 4 and 5.
He said Malaysia had not recorded any new variant at present other than Omicron and its sub-variants.
Dzulkefly said the health ministry would also monitor any drastic surge that required immediate action.
He also noted that vaccine stocks were enough for booster doses, especially for those in the high-risk groups while some vaccines like Pfizer were still being procured.
He said walk-ins are allowed to obtain the booster doses.
He said travellers and locals coming to Malaysia would be taken for check-ups if they exhibited symptoms, adding that it was not necessary to check in using Mysejahtera when visiting restaurants and shops at this point.
In a quick check with various private hospitals and the Malaysian Medical Association, which has about 18,000 members of which 8,000 are private general practitioners throughout Malaysia, The Vibes discovered that there is sufficient stock of Paxlovid to cater for any rise in Covid-19 cases.
Dr Nitiyanantam Perremal, Chief of Medical Operations at Columbia Asia in Shah Alam said, “Our Paxlovid is free, and we only charge the consultation as well as basic blood test before prescribing the antiviral medication.”
According to the guidelines for dispensing Paxlovid that the Health Ministry circulated in September 2022, the medication is to be prioritised for high-risk patients who have category 2 or 3 infections.
Thus far, the antiviral treatment has been effective and a check by The Vibes has shown that stocks are readily available at most registered clinics and private hospitals. A list of these facilities is available here: https://covid-19.moh.gov.my/makluman/senarai-fasiliti-kesihatan-swasta-bagi-rawatan-covid-19-dengan-paxlovid. – The Vibes, December 18, 2023.
