Covid-19 SOPs in Melaka out of control: Public Health Physician Association

KUALA LUMPUR – Cases of hospitalised Covid-19 patients in Melaka have increased up to 57% as of eight days ago, coinciding with the peak and second week of the state election.

The CovidNow portal reports that the increasing rate is the second highest in the country – which comes at a time when hundreds of party machineries and leaders have set up camp in Melaka for a final round of campaigning for the state election.

As a result of the increase, bed occupancy of hospitals in Melaka have become a worrying issue as 77% of hospital beds have been filled, 24.1% of them by Covid-19 patients.

The Malaysian Public Health Physicians’ Association (PPKAM) called for tighter enforcement against those who do not abide by standard operating procedures (SOPs) at the Melaka election.

In a conversation with Getaran, PPKAM president Datuk Dr Zainal Ariffin Omar stated that a much more serious approach is desperately needed and must be applied without delay.

According to Dr Zainal, strict action must be taken against political members and party machineries that carry out “hidden” campaigns under the guise of certain programmes.

“There are leaders who go to eateries or shopping centres and ‘coincidentally’ run into citizens. They might claim that this is not an act of campaigning, but it is,” he said, based on his observation of conditions in Melaka on Sunday.

“From what I saw, there were many people not adhering to SOPs. Instead of fines, the government should prioritise taking action.

“For example, if there has been a violation of SOPs, then both the individual and premises should have action taken against them, such as by closing the store,” he told Getaran.

November 8 saw the launch of campaigns for the Melaka election and 15 hospitalised Covid-19 cases. The number increased to 26 on Tuesday, followed by 70  on Wednesday, 26 on Thursday, 31 on Friday, 32 on Saturday, and 33 on Sunday.

Besides that, cases of new Covid-19 infections in the state have seen a 3% increase since Monday, with an average of 195 cases a week.

The Covid-19 infectivity rate (Rt) in Melaka has not decreased and was reported to be close to 1.0 at 0.97 on Sunday.

In view of there being only three days left in the final sprint for competing parties and individuals, Dr Zainal reiterated that no one should be let off the legal hook if they are found guilty of breaking rules throughout the campaign period.

“With only a few days left to campaign, the Election Commission, police, and health authorities should intensify monitoring efforts.

“There should not be any assemblies that are disguised with excuses while in reality, they are campaigning.

“If a violation of SOPs has been detected, immediate action must be taken without taking the matter lightly as it can spark a rise of Covid-19 cases in Malaysia,” he said.

He also expressed his disappointment with the Health Ministry (MoH), which he claimed is unprepared to deal with the risk of a post-election increase in Covid-19 cases.

“MoH cannot overlook this matter. When there is an increase in cases, the ministry should be aware and take necessary measures early on, since we already expected this to happen when a state election is held.

“MoH action is vital to control spiking Covid-19 cases. Do not blame the people for not adhering to SOPs; MoH should have prepared in advance and taken heed of what happened during the Sabah state election,” he said.

Giving the example of flood supplies, which are prepared beforehand, Dr Zainal said that it is time for MoH to stop blaming other parties and find the best way to solve problems at hand.

“It is now a matter concerning many parties, especially the people of Melaka,” he said.

On November 12, Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah reported that the average Rt of the nation has returned to 1.0, marking an end to the weeks-long downward trend of new daily cases.

“This means that daily cases are increasingly horizontal and we are worried they may continually increase. The public must adhere to SOPs and those from vulnerable communities are urged to obtain their booster doses when they receive their appointments,” he said.

Since November 8, violations of SOPs throughout the campaigning period for the Melaka election have been a well-known issue, with all competing parties having been hit with compounds. – Getaran, November 16, 2021