MMA says private healthcare underutilised in battle against Covid-19

‘The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has called on the government to incorporate private healthcare in its fight against Covid-19, saying that the sector's capabilities are being underutilised. "Our government healthcare facilities should not be taking on this battle all on its own. Private healthcare, an important component in our country’s overall healthcare system, can be an added strength in managing Covid-19 but is still underutilised.’

Read here (Malaysiakini, Nov 23, 2020)

Modelling suggests Covid-19 cases to rise steadily unless more is done

‘The number of Covid-19 cases in Malaysia is expected to rise steadily over the next four weeks unless stronger interventions are introduced to curtail its spread, according to projections by Imperial College London’s MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis.

‘Its model estimated that the number of Covid-19 infections in Malaysia is projected to increase steadily to about 7,467 infections per day by Dec 8 if no new measures are introduced to curb its spread. It also projected there would be about 16 Covid-19 deaths per day.

‘This is an increase from the model’s estimate of 4,413 infections per day as of Nov 10. The figure is vastly different from the official tally of 869 confirmed cases that day due to the model’s particular approach to account for underreporting of Covid-19 cases.’

Read here (Malaysiakini, Nov 14, 2020)

Sungai Buloh Hospital Covid-19 team gets global health awards recognition

‘The Covid-19 team at Sungai Buloh Hospital, Selangor has been recognised at the Global Health Awards (GLA) 2020 recently for its unwavering efforts to fight the pandemic. Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah congratulated the head of Sungai Buloh Hospital Infectious Disease Department Dr Suresh Kumar, and Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Department head Dr Shaiful Azman Zakaria, as well as the hospital's Covid-19 team as a whole for the recognition.

‘According to the Global Health Awards website, the regional Asia-Pacific awards aim to recognise companies in a variety of regional and global markets that have maintained consistently high standards in delivering quality care and pushed the boundaries of delighting their customers at every stage and in every interaction.’

Read here (Malaysiakini, Nov 1, 2020)

Emerging humanitarian Covid-19 crisis in Sabah: Bridget Welsh & Calvin Cheng

‘Sabah’s Covid-19 situation transcends health. A crucial part of this is recognising the difficult economic circumstances on the ground. Many of these are the product of failings in policy in the past, with the crisis bringing deep vulnerabilities to the surface. Socio-economic conditions are worsening with the lockdown. Even before 2020, Sabah’s economy had been in a tight spot. The state’s relatively high reliance on commodity-related economic activity (roughly half of the Sabah economy in 2019 was derived from commodity agriculture and mining), along with a sizable tourism sector, means that a large share of Sabah’s economy is subject to the whims of the global economy.’

Read here (Malaysiakini, Oct 25, 2020)

Early tests mean Covid-19 patients detected at ‘more infectious’ phase: Noor Hisham

‘Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said swift action to detect Covid-19 cases may have led to patients being detected at an earlier, highly infectious phase of the disease. However, he does not rule out the possibility that the high level of infectivity may be due to the virus’ D614G mutation. He said this in response to a question from the media asking why patients’ samples from the current third wave have a lower cycle threshold value (Ct) when tested, compared to samples from the first two waves of the outbreak in Malaysia.’

Read here (Malaysiakini, Oct 16, 2020)

Health DG responds to open letter to PM from ‘MOH specialist’

Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah responds to the open letter of Dr Tachdjian to the prime minister "Covid-19: Wake up, enough talk, take action". ‘Even though it is not directed to me, but as the director-general of Health, I have to understand what this "Health Ministry (MOH) staffer" is trying to relay, regardless of the person's rank, grade, or profession. It occurred to me when it was said that the doctor was an "MOH specialist" it would surely attract everyone's attention to read it...’

Read here (Malaysiakini, Oct 12, 2020)

Sabah's serious Covid-19 situation: Bridget Welsh

‘Beyond case numbers and widespread infection, there are other indicators of the growing intensity of Covid-19 in Sabah. Foremost is the stark number of unlinked cases, cases that show no clear tie to another infected patient. An estimate by Dr Amar-Singh places the most recent unlinked cases as high as 91 percent. This indicates that the virus is in the community and being spread untraceably in the community.

‘Second, the strain of the virus reported in Sabah is among one of the most infectious, contributing to higher rates of transmission. Third, even more troubling is the fact that more people are dying – a toddler last week, more women (who disproportionately are less mobile within Sabah and should be less at risk) and those without underlying health conditions...

‘The time for a “normal” response has passed. The normal response has repeatedly disadvantaged Sabahans as federal authorities lack adequate appreciation of the realities on the ground. It is important to understand those federal failures surrounding Covid-19 add to the deep resentments and divisions that already exist.’

Read here (Malaysiakini, Oct 11, 2020)

Wake up, enough talk, take action: An open letter to the PM from ‘MOH specialist’

‘Wake up dear Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin – you are a self-proclaimed “abah” (father) that wishes to “rotan” (cane) his rakyat for misbehaving and not following standard operating procedure (SOP). You fail to realise that the saddening facts of this Covid-19 wave listed down above are not due to Covid-19, but rather the failure of your administration to prioritise the health of the rakyat above all else...’

Read here (Malaysiakini, Oct 11, 2020) 

Highly contagious Covid-19 variant detected in two clusters

‘Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah has urged greater caution after a highly contagious variant of the virus that causes Covid-19 had been confirmed in two clusters in Malaysia.

‘In a Facebook post just past midnight this morning, the Institute of Medical Research had just identified the virus carrying the D614G mutation in samples collected from three cases from the Sivagangga cluster, and one case in the Bukit Tiram cluster...

“It has been found to be ten times more likely to infect other individuals, and could spread easily if spread by ‘superspreaders’,” Noor Hisham said.

‘He also voiced concern that experimental vaccines currently in development may not be able to tackle the D614G variant of the virus because it is still relatively new.’

Read here (Malaysiakini, August 16, 2020)

Use of MySejahtera app will soon be compulsory

‘Defence Minister Ismail Sabri said the use of the MySejahtera app, a mobile application commission by the federal government to facilitate Covid-19 contact-tracing, will soon be made compulsory in all business premises. "The Attorney-General's Office will gazette the usage of MySejahtera application as compulsory in the near future. However, exceptions are given to premises in rural areas where the internet connection is unstable," he told a press conference in Putrajaya today.’

Read here (Malaysiakini, August 3, 2020) 

Swiftly waning Covid-19 immunity poses vaccination challenge

‘Emerging evidence that the body's immune defence against Covid-19 may be short-lived makes it even harder for vaccine developers to come up with shots fully able to protect people in future waves of infection, scientists said on Tuesday.

‘Preliminary studies in China, Germany, Britain and elsewhere have found that patients infected with the novel coronavirus make protective antibodies as part of their immune system's defences, but these appear to last only a few months.’

Read here (Malaysiakini, July 15, 2020)

Regime change didn't disrupt Covid-19 response: Health DG

‘The country’s Covid-19 response was not adversely affected by the change in government, says Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah. “No. Even though there was a change of government, we were still able to carry out our duties, which were to monitor data, look at our strategic planning and do what we needed to do to control and stop the spread of Covid-19.”

Read here (Malaysiakini, June 3, 2020)

Covid-19 could foster boom in aid-dependency: Red Cross

Economic hardships brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic could cause a boom in aid-dependency in countries at conflict, a new survey by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) showed – prompting the international body to call for social protection programmes to be maintained or extended and to include the most vulnerable.

In a statement issued from Geneva on Wednesday, ICRC said without concerted action from the global community, it expects humanitarian needs to deepen and worsen in the wake of Covid-19.

Read here (Malaysiakini, June 3, 2020)

Distancing and masks cut Covid-19 risk, says largest review of evidence

‘Keeping at least one metre apart and wearing face masks and eye protection are the best ways to cut the risk of Covid-19 infection, according to the largest review to date of studies on coronavirus disease transmission. In a review that pooled evidence from 172 studies in 16 countries, researchers found frequent handwashing and good hygiene are also critical - though even all those measures combined can not give full protection.’ The findings were published in The Lancet journal on Monday.

Read here (Malaysiakini, June 2, 2020)

Wearing face masks at home cuts Covid-19 spread by 79 percent - study

‘While face masks and frequent disinfection is widely assumed to prevent Covid-19 transmission, a new study has lent weight to the usefulness of these measures in ‘real world’ situations. In a paper published in the journal BMJ Global Health yesterday, researchers found that wearing face masks at home before the primary case showed symptoms slashed the risk of secondary infections by 79 percent. Wearing masks after symptoms appeared had no effect.’

Read here (Malaysiakini, May 29, 2020)

No exit strategy until high SOP compliance from Malaysians, says DG

Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said there needs to be a high compliance rate for the standard operating procedure (SOP) under the conditional movement control order (MCO) as well as a steady two-digit daily new Covid-19 cases before an exit strategy can be discussed. “Before we can discuss an exit strategy – and we are not discussing an exit strategy now, only loosening under the conditional MCO – Malaysians must comply (with the SOP). If they do not comply, we might extend the conditional MCO...’

Read here (Malaysiakini, May 18, 2020)

List of banned activities during conditional MCO

The government has decided to reopen the economy from May 4 but some sectors will either still be barred from resuming business or subject to many conditions and a conditional movement control order (MCO) will be imposed.

This story contains (1) the list and (2) a number of related news stories pertaining to the conditional MCO announced by the Prime Minister on May 1, 2020.

Read here (Malaysiakini, May 1, 2020)

MMA voices concern on discrimination against healthcare workers

‘The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has raised concerns over what it says are discriminatory practices against healthcare workers due to Covid-19. The MMA said it was informed that a condominium in Petaling Jaya had segregated the use of its lifts to "protect other residents from getting infected with Covid-19".

‘While we welcome the regular cleaning of common areas and temperatures of residents being taken upon entry as precautionary steps, the segregation of residents for shared facilities such as lifts is unnecessary and smacks of discrimination against our healthcare workers,’ says MMA president Dr N Ganabaskaran said in a statement.

Read here (Malaysiakini, April 25, 2020)

Malaysia’s youth on the unemployed frontline: Five additional measures to effect reform

Story by Bridget Welsh & Calvin Cheng

‘These [existing] measures [to address the problems of youth unemployment] however are not enough. There is an urgent need to engage in meaningful reform to address underlying issues to ameliorate the negative impact of Covid-19. In keeping with our aim to offer constructive suggestions to address Covid-19, we offer five additional concrete ideas for consideration.

• First, the government can strengthen private-public sector partnerships through incentives to hire, retain and train young employees.
• Second, the government should consider ramping up training for younger Malaysians, not just those in the Klang Valley, but those in the states hardest hit by youth unemployment.
• Third, a rethink is needed on how to aid those young workers stuck in the low-paying jobs, with possible structured tax incentives for companies that offer training and advancement for employees to hire young workers who show promise.
• Fourth, while there have been important reforms in encouraging student debt repayment, including incentives for repayment, Covid-19 may provide an opportunity to consider broader measures of student debt relief based on need and debt restructuring.  
• Fifth, we need to appreciate that the social safety net in Malaysia is inadequate. The relief measures are tiny, compared to the scale of the economic downturn coming ahead, and the reality of being experienced now by those facing insecurity. 

Read here (Malaysiakini, April 18, 2020)

The Achilles heel of Malaysia’s Covid-19 battle

‘There is a major “Achilles Heel” in our Covid control programme that has yet not been addressed comprehensively – the six million or so migrant workers in our country, two-thirds of who are undocumented, and the majority of whom live in crowded unsanitary conditions.

‘The PSM has been advocating since March 19 that the government reaches out to this community and win their trust as our main weapons for containing Covid-19 – case identification, contact tracing, isolation of cases and contacts – will be resisted by the migrant community because they will be afraid that, after the two weeks of quarantine in a government facility, they might be charged for immigration violations, flogged, jailed and/or deported.’

Read here (Malaysiakini, April 18, 2020)