GEORGE TOWN – Elected representatives are calling for health authorities to revamp how statistics are compiled in the war against Covid-19 due to suspicions that the data is inaccurate and comes with scant accountability and transparency.
The representatives hope that an accurate flow of information is made a priority under Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s administration, since the numbers affect how the public reacts daily to the pandemic.
The country had hit a record high of over 23,000 cases yesterday, while the daily death toll is now averaging in the 200s despite inroads being made with the vaccination rate.
Close to 40% of the population is reportedly fully dosed as of yesterday.
Klang MP Charles Santiago said there is a need to be transparent in how the data is compiled. He said there are complaints from the front lines, such as among doctors and nurses, about medical personnel’s inability to reconcile case numbers with hospitalisation rates.
The record on daily caseloads needs to be supplemented with how contact tracing is done. The identity of a cluster needs to be accurate. If a cluster occurs in “Zone A” then it should be named after Zone A and not something different altogether.
While there is concern about the rights of patients under medical privacy legislation, Santiago said there is a need to strike a balance between such privacy rights and effectively battling the virus.
To win the war against Covid-19, we need everybody to be co-opted.”
Another point of contention that Santiago pointed out is self-test kits. He alleged that those who purchase it are mostly self-isolating at home if they are positive, but do not notify health authorities.
The numbers from self-test assessments are then not captured in the MySejahtera database. If they are not disciplined, they may infect others by not staying strictly quarantined at home.
“Our tendency to adopt a denial syndrome needs to be disbanded. It is becoming apparent that the public healthcare sector was under-invested for decades, so there are not enough resources to battle a live wire virus such as Covid-19,” he said.
Penang exco and Datuk Keramat assemblyman Jagdeep Singh Deo has organised daily briefings on Covid-19 in the state, yet he, too, is perplexed as to why the state continues to record high case numbers.
From just a handful of new daily cases last year, Penang has been averaging 1,200 cases over the past week.
This comes despite local authorities having recorded an almost-99% compliance rate by traders and communities in adhering to the standard operating procedures (SOPs).
Meanwhile, Kebun Bunga assemblyman Jason Ong Khan Lee said there is a need to adopt a new strategy to fight the virus, as the previous approach has failed.
He said there is a need to bring in new equipment such as copper-laced panelling to ward off the virus, new therapeutic drugs, and adopt models employed by China, South Korea and Taiwan, which he claimed have been largely successful.
South Korea has never adopted a lockdown except during its initial surge, yet case numbers and deaths there are under control, claimed Ong.
He also wants the vaccines to be made mandatory for every frontliner, including those working in the tourism, security and trading sectors, where there is much interaction with the public. – The Vibes, August 21, 2021
