KUALA LUMPUR – It will do the country a world of good if the government does not rush to ease lockdown restrictions once Covid-19 daily cases dip below 4,000 as currently indicated, said experts.
They warned that such a move risks higher caseloads in the near future and further strain to the country’s public healthcare system, which are only beginning to see some signs of improvement.
They urged the government to maintain standard operating procedures (SOPs) until daily infections fall below 2,000.
Speaking to The Vibes, former deputy health minister Dr Lee Boon Chye said that for now the government should stick to its original plan of implementing the nationwide movement control order (MCO) until June 28, regardless of the number of cases.
The PKR health spokesman added that any SOP review should only be considered after this period, which he believes will see infection rates fall to about 2,000 cases per day.
“This makes it easier for the Health Ministry to handle the pandemic. For one, they don’t have to treat so many patients, and secondly, they also don’t have to conduct too much contact tracing.”
According to Lee, on average, a single Covid-19 patient typically has about five to 10 close contacts.
“If we have 5,000 cases a day, that will be about 25,000 to 50,000 contacts that have to be traced daily. You can only imagine the numbers will significantly drop if there are only about 2,000 infections.”
Lee was commenting on Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s statement yesterday, which had said that Putrajaya will evaluate lockdown SOPs if cases dip below 4,000, but also affirmed that it would not necessarily indicate an end to the lockdown.
Ismail Sabri said he was informed by Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba and Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah that SOPs would be reviewed once the country reaches the threshold.
Lee said this should not be the case, especially if there is a large number of community-spread cases, which are harder to control.
“In workplaces, especially those with a majority of foreign workers, it is a bit easier because the government can just shut the factory, lock the area and all workers down, and ensure the virus does not spread in communities.”
If the government insists on relaxing SOPs soon, Lee said, this should only be done in areas with very low infections, such as in Perlis and several areas in Perak, although restrictions such as inter-district and interstate travel should remain.
Unfeasible, especially at current vaccination rate
Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) president Prof Datuk Dr Subramaniam Muniandy said the loosening of restrictions is not feasible at the moment, unless the vaccination rate is at its maximum and the country is nearing herd immunity.
He said the lack of discipline among many Malaysians in complying with government SOPs also meant that the 4,000-case threshold is “a bit too high”.
“Personally, I think the government should wait a couple more weeks until cases drop to 1,000 or 2,000,” he said.
Subramaniam said while he understood the need to balance health and livelihood, with the majority of economic activities not allowed under the lockdown, the easing of SOPs should only be considered, “at worst”, when infections are half the current figure.
According to Health Ministry data, Covid-19 cases are beginning to show a downward trend. In the last three days, caseloads were reported respectively at 6,849 (June 11), 5,793 (June 12), and 5,304 (June 13).
The number of active cases have also been declining since June 6.
“This shows the MCO is working. But more importantly, we need the people to be disciplined, and to also get themselves registered for vaccination.”
Fellow health practitioner and former MMA president Dr John Chew said the metrics for opening up the economy should not be solely based on the number of daily new cases.
This, he said, is because the Delta variant has shown to be more contagious and results in more severe diseases.
Instead, he said, the loosening of SOPs should only be done when vaccination coverage is greater than 70% and when hospital capacities are increased to ease the burden on frontliners.
He added that there should be enforcement for high-risk groups, and more public health information being passed down. – The Vibes, June 4, 2021
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