KUALA LUMPUR – The Health Ministry has blamed the public for causing the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in Malaysia.
Pointing towards pandemic fatigue among the public, the Health Ministry said the community has become complacent with regard to SOP compliance and failing to stay informed about the latest developments in the ongoing pandemic.
“Important messages about the importance of washing hands, wearing face masks and social distancing in public places are becoming less effective among the community. This is a phenomenon that must be tackled through a comprehensive plan,” said the Ministry.
Additionally, the Ministry also said that the implementation of Targeted Enhanced Movement Control Orders (TEMCO) on certain localities have contributed to the rise in Covid-19 cases.
Some of those residing in TEMCO areas would have to go through a Covid-19 screening, in addition to those screened through contact tracing. Thus, taking into account that infectivity rates in such localities would be high, a rise in Covid-19 numbers would be expected.
The Health Ministry was responding to questions raised by Kesavan Subramaniam (Sungai Siput - PH) regarding the factors that caused the rise of Covid-19 cases attributed to the third-wave of the pandemic.
On October 8, the media reported that Malaysia was entering the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Initially, the rise of Covid-19 cases was thought to have been caused by the Sabah State elections alone. In fact, on November 18, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin even admitted that the State Election was the cause of the latest Covid-19 wave. – The Vibes, December 4, 2020
