KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (July 1): The rakyat thank the government for providing various forms of aid to those impacted by Covid-19, as well as for implementing the National Covid-19 Immunization Program (PICK). Covid-19 infections have been exceeding 4,000 per day in Malaysia for months, and pandemic deaths have also been increasing.
The situation is quite concerning, especially in light of recent coronavirus infections caused by the more deadly Delta strain.
The Ministry of Health is losing control of the Covid-19 struggle. Countries with greater populations, such as Thailand, Vietnam, Korea, Japan, and China, fare worse than us.
All Malaysians must be subjected to obligatory testing. China had successfully carried out required testing on the affected population in order to quickly identify, isolate, and treat both asymptomatic and symptomatic cases.
In just nine days, China tested 11 million people in Wuhan for Covid-19, and 10 million people in Qingdao in just five days.
China, with 1.4 billion people, only reports single or double-digit daily infections, whereas Malaysia, with 32.72 million people, has four-digit infections every day.
The significant prevalence of Covid-19 asymptomatic cases necessitates mandatory testing. According to The Star, health director-general Tan Sri Noor Hisham revealed in July last year that 75 percent of Covid-19 infections in Malaysia were asymptomatic, meaning patients had no symptoms, and only 25% were symptomatic, meaning patients had symptoms.
He told the New Straits Time on December 28 last year that 89 percent of Covid-19 cases were asymptomatic. According to a report published by Berita Harian on May 15 this year, the majority of Covid-19 infections in Selangor were asymptomatic and were discovered during the state government’s free testing push.
Now, according to the Ministry of Health, 80 percent of Covid-19 cases are sporadic, meaning they are not associated with any cluster. Most sporadic cases, I assume, have gotten the virus from asymptomatic instances.
Unfortunately, the ministry is primarily concerned with treating symptomatic instances, while ignoring the vast majority of asymptomatic cases in Malaysia.
This is the MoH’s most serious flaw in the fight against Covid-19.
The Ministry of Health’s long-term approach of target testing for Covid-19 via contact tracing, along with a mobility control order that has been in effect for nearly a month, has failed to lower daily four-digit infections.
Old techniques applied repeatedly will continue to generate poor outcomes, hence the “war” strategy must adapt.
If the government lacks the logistical resources to conduct mandatory statewide testing alongside the vaccine campaign, it can begin by testing all residents of the Klang Valley, which includes Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, and Putrajaya. The Klang Valley was chosen because of the significant number of Covid-19 cases in the area.
Asymptomatic instances are quietly infecting others who believe they are healthy.
The rakyat has been negatively affected by the daily four-digit infections, which would impede economic recovery.
I’m hoping that the Ministry of Health modifies its testing policy as soon as possible. The Delta variety, as well as the enormous influx of foreign labor and PATI, will exacerbate the epidemic, as would the many celebrations.
The prognosis is bleak.
May Allah keep Malaysia safe from the Covid-19 virus. Aminyarabbalalamin.
From 1992 to 2005, Tan Sri Adzmi Abdul Wahab was the managing director of Edaran Otomobil Nasional Bhd. He had previously worked in the civil service in positions such as Central Procurement and Contract Management in the Ministry of Finance, Investment Promotion in the Pahang Tenggara Development Authority, Public Enterprise Management in the Implementation Coordination Unit (Prime Minister’s Department), and Regional Planning in the Klang Valley Planning Secretariat (Prime Minister’s Department)./n
