KUALA LUMPUR – Amid rising panic surrounding the new Covid-19 Omicron variant, is the Malaysian government jumping the gun and overreacting based on incomplete reports?
This question becomes more pressing when the doctor who first alerted the world of the Omicron strain has herself voiced astonishment over the global anxiety and extreme action following her discovery.
In a commentary piece published by The Daily Mail UK on November 30, Dr Angelique Coetzee stressed that nothing she has seen of this new variant warrants the extreme action that the United Kingdom has taken in response to it.
The simple truth is: we don’t know yet anywhere near enough about Omicron to make such judgments or to impose such policies.
“No one here in South Africa is known to have been hospitalised with the Omicron variant, nor is anyone here believed to have fallen seriously ill with it.
“In South Africa, we’ve retained a sense of perspective. We’ve had no new regulations or talk of lockdowns because we’ve been waiting to see what the variant actually means,” Dr Angelique said, adding that data within the next two weeks should provide some clarity on the matter.
On November 26, the United Kingdom banned flights to six southern African nations – South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Namibia – until November 28 due to fear of the spread of the Omicron strain of the virus.
In a similarly reactive instead of proactive measure, Malaysia had on November 30 announced travel restrictions for high-risk travellers arriving from countries that have reported the variant’s spread.
The countries listed by Foreign Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein include South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, and Zimbabwe. Malawi was added to the list a day later by Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.
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Prominent medical researcher Dr Amar Singh, however, told The Vibes that insufficient data should not deter efforts undertaken by the government to prevent the spread of infection.
“The government is very much justified in approaching the matter with caution as the backlogs in medical data regarding cases of hospitalisation and records of fatalities must also be considered,” Dr Amar said, noting that information on cases are only documented up to four weeks after the fact.
He also pointed out that the new variant should be treated with severity as the insufficiency of data cannot rule out lasting, debilitating effects of the Covid-19 virus.
“You might not die from an infection of the strain, but there are also other worrying side effects such as being burdened with long Covid-19,” Dr Amar said.
Long Covid-19 is the term used to describe the long-term effects of the coronavirus even after recovering from the infection, with symptoms including extreme fatigue, shortness of breath, and problems with memory and concentration, or brain fog.
The government also has the support of a reputable local medical researcher who spoke to The Vibes on the condition of anonymity.
According to the medical practitioner, no harm can come from the enforcement of public health measures as the general public will only benefit if they comply with existing standard operating procedures.
“Regardless of the dangers carried by past and future variants, there should be no worries if public health measures are properly practised alongside the public having receiving their Covid-19 vaccination and booster shots,” the doctor said.
The researcher also pointed out that the first Malaysian case of the Omicron variant featured a student who was both vaccinated and asymptomatic, which he believes signifies the efficacy of the vaccine.
“His immune system, aided by the vaccine, is clearly fighting the virus,” he told The Vibes.
It is not about the government trying to make money from the vaccine industry. As a doctor myself, I do not get any profit from speaking in favour of vaccinations, but I am an advocate for it anyway because I know it works.”
Despite their words of support, there has undeniably been an international outcry over the implementation of travel bans by European authorities against southern African countries.
Fortis Escorts Heart Institute chairman Dr Ashok Seth from New Delhi, India, had said that people should remain cautious and proactive instead of panicking after two cases of the Omicron variant were detected in India.
On November 29, AFP reported that Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera had accused Western countries of “Afrophobia” for shutting their borders to his and other neighbouring nations after South Africa flagged the Omicron variant.
Last night, Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah advised Malaysians to not panic and overreact to the new variant, and instead continue taking all public health precautionary measures.
“The simple truth is that we don’t know enough yet about Omicron. We should not panic and over react, but continue to take all public health precautionary measures, get vaccinated and self-test," he said in a tweet.
Malaysia detected its first case of the Omicron variant in a 19-year-old South African student who arrived from Singapore on November 19. – The Vibes, December 4, 2021
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