We are targeting as much as 80% of the population or 26.5 million Malaysians to receive the vaccine free of charge.- Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin
The country will embark on its largest ever immunisation programme, involving some 80% of Malaysians, when free Covid-19 vaccines roll out at the end of the month, says Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
The Prime Minister also warns that stricter enforcement and harsher penalties – including jail terms – will be imposed on anyone who flouts pandemic regulations.
PETALING JAYA: The country will embark on its largest ever immunisation effort when the national Covid-19 vaccination programme, targeting some 26.5 million Malaysians, rolls out at the end this month, says Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
“We are targeting as much as 80% of the population or 26.5 million Malaysians to receive the vaccine free of charge,” he said in a special live address yesterday.
He said the first batch of vaccines from Pfizer and BioNTech would be arriving soon, describing this as a “ray of hope” for the nation in its fight against the virus.
“The first phase of the immunisation programme will involve the vaccination of 500,000 medical and non-medical frontliners, which is expected to be completed by April,” he said.
The second phase, he added, would involve those in high-risk groups such as those 60 years and above, with heart ailments or high blood pressure, were obese or diabetic, and the disabled.
“A total of 9.4 million people (from high-risk groups) is expected to receive the vaccine under the second phase from April to August,” he added.
Muhyiddin said that the third phase would involve the rest, aged 18 and above, with vaccinations to be carried out from May this year to February next year.
“The national Covid-19 immunisation programme is the largest vaccination programme ever to be carried out in the country.
“I call on all Malaysians to mobilise available efforts and resources to ensure the success of the programme.
“We are all in this together, and only together can we win,” he said.
He stressed that the vaccination programme was crucial as it would help the country develop herd immunity, which would bring the pandemic under control.
Muhyiddin added some 600 storage and vaccination centres would be opened nationwide for the programme.
He said that authorities would rely on the Emergency Ordinance 2021 to temporarily use halls and other facilities for the vaccination rollout.
He also promised that more details on the immunisation programme such as registration, location of vaccination centres and related information, would be made known in due time.
Muhyiddin said that Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has been tasked with overseeing the programme to allow the Health Ministry to focus on healthcare services in fighting the pandemic.
On a separate matter, Muhyiddin said that private hospitals had stepped forward to contribute 1,409 beds to help treat Covid-19 patients, which would ease the pressure on government hospitals, and 1,344 of these beds would be in regular wards and 65 in intensive care units (ICUs).
He added that the Health Ministry also set RM27mil to work with 31 private hospitals to outsource the treatment of non-Covid-19 patients.
Muhyiddin also said that concerted efforts would be made among public and private medical laboratories to increase Covid-19 screening capacity.
Currently, he said 68 government and public laboratories had the capacity to carry out 76,000 Covid19 tests daily.
He added that 16 former National Servive and Kem Wawasan camps would be temporarily turned into detention and quarantine centres for illrgal immigrationys and inmates to lessen overcrowing.
Prof
Dr Tan: We have to prioritise elderly care home workers, residents and
senior citizens since they are the ones who are most likely to succumb
to Covid-19.
Promising interim data released by China's COVID-19
developer Sinovac regarding its vaccines on elderly people will push
forward China's efforts to streamline its vaccine rollout for the
seniors and consolidate the country's plan to establish herd immunity.
Yet scientists urge ...
In new memoir, ex-AG reveals Dr M wanted him out after Malay backlash
A “monumental betrayal” by Mahathir Mohamad led to a “kakistrocracy”
formed by Muhyiddin Yassin, says Tommy Thomas. (Bernama pic)
PETALING JAYA: Former attorney general Tommy Thomas has harsh words for Dr Mahathir Mohamad, whose resignation as prime minister in February 2020 paved the way for Muhyddin Yassin to take power.
In an epilogue to his recently-published memoirs, Thomas described Mahathir’s resignation as “a monumental betrayal”.
In a Churchillian turn of phrase, Thomas said: “Seldom in our nation’s history have so many million voters been let down by the actions of one man.”
Mahathir resigned on Feb 24, causing the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan government two years after it came to power in the 2018 general election. His resignation led the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to seek a new prime minister and cabinet from members of Parliament.
Muhyiddin was appointed five days later after the King consulted political leaders to determine who commanded a majority in the Dewan Rakyat. He formed a government of parties in the Perikatan Nasional coalition.
Thomas said the formation of the new government “by a coalition of Malay-centric parties that proudly proclaim their race and religion” had brought disastrous consequences to multi-racial Malaysia.
He compared Muhyiddin Yassin to former US president Donald Trump, saying they both represented the rise to power of those lacking credibility and principle.
Both Muhiddin and Trump represented the modern ‘”kakistocracy”, he said, using a term invented in 17th century England to mean “government by the worst; to describe the political rise of the least qualified or most unscrupulous”.
Calling it a “misgovernment for profit”, Thomas said the kakistocracy served a political agenda – the shameless pursuit of hate politics: (Trump’s) America First, or the Malay/Muslim Agenda of the PN government.
He also said that Trump displayed “dictatorial conduct” during his tenure, disregarding conventions, norms and even legal requirements. Malaysia’s opposition parties have used similar terms against Muhyiddin after his government declared a state of emergency.
What will happen to Europe? Will it continue with a broadly pro-American orientation, or will it pursue an increasingly independent position?
Either way, the consequences will be far-reaching. At the heart of the West lie the US and Europe. If Europe seeks a more autonomous role, then the West will be seriously weakened.
The end of the Cold War marked a major moment in US-Europe relations. Europe was no longer dependent on the US for its defense and ever since, slowly but remorselessly, a growing distance has opened up between them. This was accelerated by two key events ̶ the US invasion of Iraq, opposed by most Europeans, and the Donald Trump phenomenon, which most Europeans found beyond the pale.
President Joe Biden wants to mend the fences and return to something closer to the pre-Trump relationship. He may have some success because, unlike Trump, Biden will seek to befriend rather than castigate Europe. But there will be no simple return to the pre-Trump era: too much has happened, too much has changed.
A recent opinion poll by the European Council on Foreign Relations across 11 European countries reveals what can only be described as a sea-change in European attitudes in the post-Trump era. Six in 10 Europeans believe that the US political system is broken and that China will become a stronger power than the US in the next10 years. A majority now want their country to remain neutral in any conflict between the US and China.
A majority of Germans believe that, after voting for Trump in 2016, Americans can no longer be trusted; across Europe likewise more people agreed than disagreed with this statement. The survey grouped the respondents into four categories. The smallest, 9 percent of the total, believed that the EU was broken and the US would bounce back. A second group, around 20 percent of the total, believed that both the US and the EU would continue to thrive. A third group, 29 percent of the total, thought that both the US and the EU were broken and declining. A fourth group, 35 percent of the total, believed that the EU was healthy, but the US was broken. The latter two groups, almost two-thirds of the total, expected that the US would soon be displaced by China.
There has clearly been a profound shift in European attitudes consequent upon the decline of the West since the 2008 financial crisis, the Trump presidency and the rise of China. These, we must remind ourselves, are very recent developments which have happened with remarkable speed. Far from reinforcing the Atlantic alliance and the relationship with the US, their main impact on Europeans has been to weaken those bonds, elicit a growing acknowledgement that the world has changed profoundly and foster a belief that Europe needs to be more independent. Of course, these trends are still young and fluid. Many conflicting forces are at work with attitudes ebbing and flowing both within and between countries. Criticism of China has grown apace in the recent period in Europe, as it has in the US. But there is one fundamental difference. While the US is bent on defending its global primacy, Europe long ago abandoned any such pretensions, thereby greatly reducing the sources of friction and animosity between it and China in comparison with the US.
The survey reveals that by far the dominant trend is toward a more independent-minded Europe, a growing skepticism about the US and a sign of recognition that China will soon become the dominant power in the world. The European leader who most symbolizes this outlook, and has pioneered this way of thinking, is German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The recently agreed EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment, very much in Merkel's image, is a powerful demonstration of the EU's willingness to pursue its own independent relationship with China rather than following the Americans.
The trend toward a growing distance between Europe and the US will be slow, tortuous, conflict-riddled, and painful. Europe has looked westward across the Atlantic ever since Christopher Columbus. It was European settlers who colonized Northeast America and subsequently established the US. The latter was a European creation which over time was to outperform its ancestral continent. If Europe colonized much of the world, the post-1945 world order was a Western creation, with the US the dominant partner and Europe very much a junior partner. In sum, an enormous historical, intellectual, political and cultural hinterland binds the US and Europe together. But we are now in new territory. American decline means that it has increasingly less to offer Europe.
The gravitational pull of China, and Asia more generally, is drawing Europe eastward. Nothing illustrates this phenomenon better than the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative. Slowly but surely, bit by bit, Europe is becoming more and more involved ̶ first the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, then Portugal, Greece and Italy, and others over time will in all likelihood follow. What drew Europe westward is now drawing it eastward: the centre of gravity of the global economy, once in the west, is now in the east.
The author was until recently a Senior Fellow at the Department of Politics and International Studies at Cambridge University. He is a Visiting Professor at the Institute of Modern International Relations at Tsinghua University and a Senior Fellow at the China Institute, Fudan University. Follow him on twitter @martjacques. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn
EVER
since Joe Biden won the US presidency, the rhetoric from Europe’s
leaders has been filled with anticipation of a new transatlantic dawn.
With Donald Trump out of the White House, Europe signalled that it would
again link arms with America, bound by common ideals and a firm resolve
to “save the world from its bad angels”.
“The United States is
back. And Europe stands ready,” European Commission President Ursula von
der Leyen had declared on Biden’s inauguration day.
But given the
opportunity in recent weeks to show the Biden administration it was
serious about geostrategic collaboration, Europe opted instead to “show
Washington the finger”, said Politico.
According to the political
journal, a consensus has emerged among transatlantic strategic thinkers
in recent years that the West faces two major threats to its security:
old nemesis Russia and China, the global power the US sees as the much
greater challenge over the long term.
As White House press secretary
Jen Psaki said: “Beijing is now challenging our security, prosperity
and values in significant ways that require a new US approach.”
But
Europe appears to have its own ideas, as seen in how the regional bloc
has continued to pursue its own course on China in the face of American
reservations.
In late December, for example, the European Union
agreed to a landmark investment pact with China, ignoring objections
from across the Atlantic and requests from the Biden camp to hold off
until the new administration was in office.
Then at the the Davos
World Economic Forum last week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel
rejected calls for Europe to pick sides between the US and China, in a
nod to the plea made by Chinese President Xi Jinping a day earlier.
While
Biden is looking to group together democracies to contain China, Merkel
was pointedly wary about the formation of factions.
“I would very
much wish to avoid the building of blocs,” said Merkel. “I don’t think
it would do justice to many societies if we were to say this is the
United States and over there is China and we are grouping around either
the one or the other. This is not my understanding of how things ought
to be.”
Referring to Xi’s speech at the same forum, Merkel
said: “The Chinese president spoke yesterday, and he and I agree on
that. We see a need for multilateralism.”
Merkel is far from alone in
Europe in not wanting to join a more robust US approach toward Beijing.
Paris and Rome broadly share Merkel’s position.
On Thursday,
French President Emmanuel Macron echoed Merkel’s statement that the EU
shouldn’t gang up on China with the US, even if it stands closer to
Washington by virtue of shared values.
“A situation to join all
together against China, this is a scenario of the highest possible
conflictuality. This one, for me, is counterproductive,” Macron said
during a discussion broadcast by Washington-based think tank the
Atlantic Council.
This kind of common front against China risks
pushing Beijing to lower its cooperation on issues like combating
climate change, added the French president.
Macron was the
first European leader to make it a point to engage with China as a
European bloc by including Merkel and then-EU Commission President
Jean-Claude Juncker during a bilateral visit by Chinese President Xi
Jinping to France in March 2019.
Macron and European partners didn’t
share the Trump administration’s outwardly aggressive stance on China,
instead theorising that it was at once a “partner, competitor and
systemic rival.”
And now it looks like they do not want to go back to
the “old normal” either, where US led in the us-versus-them global
politics.
Whether Europe’s decision to effectively de-couple from the
US foreign policy agenda before Biden’s administration has really even
begun is born out of a desire to achieve the dream of “strategic
autonomy,” concern that Donald Trump could return in four years, or some
combination thereof may not matter in the end.
As the strategic
rivalry between the US and China comes into focus, Europe is adamant to
stay on the sidelines and remain neutral. – Agencies
Teachers on Zoom calls with students ages five to eight who are at home or in daycare might find this a familiar bugbear: the sounds of other children, siblings, parents and barking dogs.
The students have noise-canceling headphones that block the noise for them, but not so much the teachers.
In addition, some students use iPads that have a plug for their headphones but no plug for a noise-cancelling external microphone (headphones that include microphones are expensive).
If this is what you’re facing, block the background racket by using noise-cancelling software instead of noise-canceling microphones.
There are two types of this software: The Zoom video call app, which has controls for cancelling out background noise at the student’s end of the conversation, and third-party programs for your computer that cancel out student background noise before the sound plays through your computer’s speaker.
In order to use the Zoom noise-cancelling feature, your students must connect to the call via the Zoom app on their iPads (as opposed to connecting without the app through the Zoom website).
In addition, an adult must examine the app’s settings to make sure they aren’t set to “original sound”, which means background noise is not filtered out. Toggling off “original sound” automatically turns on background noise cancellation. (For directions, clic here.)
Unfortunately, the noise-cancellation feature in the iPad Zoom app has its limits. Unlike the computer app, the iPad app doesn’t let you adjust to block specific types of sounds. It also doesn’t allow noise cancellation to be increased or decreased.
A better solution may be to download a third-party noise-cancellation program to the PC or Mac that you use for Zoom sessions. The app most suited to your needs is probably Krisp, which can filter out student background noise before you hear it. Krisp is free to use for up to 120 minutes a week; unlimited use costs US$5 (RM20) a month. (See details here and downloads here). – Star Tribune (Minneapolis)/Tribune News Service
MCMC: Beware of scammers trying to take over your WhatsApp account
MCMC issued a warning to alert the public to increasing reports of WhatsApp accounts being hijacked
MCMC said scammers often pose as friends or family members, using accounts that scammers had already successfully hacked into, to try to trick them into revealing their six-digit WhatsApp verification codes. — Bloomberg
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has issued a statement warning the public to be wary of increasingly inventive tactics employed by scammers trying to hijack a user’s WhatsApp account, due to increasing reports of fraud cases being committed through the app.
MCMC said scammers usually manage to take over victims’ WhatsApp accounts by tricking them into divulging their six-digit verification codes, which users will usually receive when there is an attempt to change the phone number associated to their account.
To do this, scammers have been known to contact potential victims while posing as a hapless individual or business claiming to have mistakenly keyed in the victim’s phone number while trying to complete an online transaction, explaining that as a result the authorisation code for the transaction had been sent to the victim’s phone and imploring them for help retrieving the code.
These appeals could even come from the victim’s family members or friends via accounts that scammers had already hijacked, said MCMC.
This tactic commonly misleads the victim into thinking they would be sending the scammer an unrelated TAC (transaction authorisation code) when in fact they would be handing over the six-digit verification code to the victim’s own WhatsApp account.
Those who have been duped into giving up their codes could end up having their accounts stolen by scammers, added MCMC.
MCMC said scammers have also impersonated WhatsApp employees to fool users into sharing their verification code, adding that there have also been instances where the scammer would deliberately fail at keying in the code several times in order to force an automated system by WhatsApp to call the user about their verification code.
In this instance, the scammer would also contact the user to ask for the code while pretending to be someone else. If the user did not answer the automated call by WhatsApp and it goes into the user’s voice mailbox, then the scammer would try to randomly guess at or ask for the user’s voice mailbox PIN code to access the recording, according to MCMC.
The regulatory body advised WhatsApp users to be suspicious of any attempts to procure their six-digit verification code, adding that it is absolutely imperative that users never reveal the code to anyone else to prevent their accounts from being hijacked.
It added that users should also enable two-factor verification on WhatsApp and utilise more complicated PIN numbers for their voice mailbox as additional security measures.
According to an FAQ by WhatsApp, a user may be sent the verification code via SMS – even when one wasn’t requested – for a number of reasons.
WhatsApp said this could happen due to someone mistyping their own number, or a hacker attempting to take over the person’s account.
Without the code, the hacker will not be able to complete the verification process, which would prevent the account from being hijacked.
If your account has been stolen, you will have to sign into WhatsApp with your phone number and verify your phone number by entering the six-digit code you receive via SMS.
Once you enter the six-digit SMS code, the individual using your account will be automatically logged out.
You might also be asked to provide a two-step verification code. If you don’t know this code, the hijacker using your account could have enabled two-step verification.
You must wait seven days before you can sign in without the two-step verification code, according to WhatsApp.
Regardless of whether you know this verification code, the other person will be logged out of your account once you entered the six-digit code received via SMS.
In a separate FAQ about stolen accounts, WhatsApp also advised the victim to inform family and friends if they suspect someone is impersonating them in chats.
Users whose WhatsApp accounts have been stolen are encouraged to file a complaint with MCMC or lodge a report at the nearest police station.
As of Wednesday Beijing time, over 100 million people around the world have been infected with COVID-19, with over 2.15 million deaths. The severest pandemic since the beginning of the 21st century has brought great sufferings to the people and incurred huge losses. It has provided lessons.
As World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on Twitter, "Numbers can make us numb to what they represent: every death is someone's parent, someone's partner, someone's child, someone's friend." After all, humanity shouldn't be numb. We must keep the thirst for humanitarianism and always spare no efforts. Humanity must not connive in the growing number of deaths - it is a shame of the modern civilization.
Many lessons can be drawn from the COVID-19 pandemic that manages to rage across the globe. The biggest one is that we humans should have made full use of the capabilities to contain the pandemic, but the interference of politics with science and the resulting disunity among major countries have allowed the coronavirus to take advantage. What was supposed to be a unified war against the epidemic has become separate wars within different countries and regions. The problem is clear for all to see, but we have not yet been able to mend the fold quickly enough to build the collective human solidarity that was so badly needed.
Within many countries, too, it has been difficult to forge consensus and solidarity around the pandemic prevention routes. How to coordinate the fight against the epidemic and to boost economic recovery has become a common question. In this process, the opinions of scientists are often marginalized, and some influential politicians put non-scientific considerations first at the critical moment, leading the fight against the pandemic to go astray.
The ravaging epidemic has also exposed the fragility of economic activity and the way human society is organized. Most societies in general are poor in vigilance to disasters with a lack of mobilization, and dependent too much on fair weather for prosperity. The pandemic this time showed the destructive power of a public health crisis at a time when the world's population is growing and more socially intense. Human society must increase its investment in public safety.
After a terrible year, we are now at a new stage of the pandemic. Vaccines at this stage have the potential to revolutionize the fight against the pandemic and reshape the global structure.
China is a large populous country. It has achieved outstanding success in the last round of the epidemic fight, laying a sound foundation for the next stage of the war against the coronavirus. The country is also at the forefront of vaccine research and development. Next, we must create the fastest vaccination rate and stand at the front ranks on the herd immunity list. This is a new test for China.
We contained the epidemic without vaccines in the last round of the virus fight. We cannot continue such an advantage. The speed of vaccine promotion will greatly affect the opening-up of all societies in the future. The US and European societies suffered heavy losses last year, but at the same time they have developed relatively strong endurance toward the pandemic. If their vaccination is fast, this will promote mutual opening-up among them, which will exert pressure on countries which are slow in vaccination.
Only by getting vaccination rates in China roughly on par with the rates in the US and European countries, along with keeping the social distancing capabilities we already have, can China continue to lead in being open in the future and further provide the greatest impetus for the recovery of the global economy.
Before the next winter comes, China needs to strive to get the majority of the vulnerable and high-risk groups vaccinated and to expand the vaccination coverage to the general population. We need to guarantee the total number of people vaccinated in China several times higher than the number in the US.
China also needs to provide large quantities of vaccines to developing countries, and the total number of vaccines exported should be the largest. This is the role China should play as a major manufacturing country, and this is what is expected of China.
To accomplish these tasks at the same time, China's vaccine production must speed up as soon as possible. We don't have time to celebrate our past achievements. We need to move forward and focus on the future
Health authorities worldwide use either RT-PCR or RTK-Ag to test the virus
There are two known popular Covid-19 tests available and used by the health authorities worldwide to detect the virus.
The two tests – reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and antigen rapid test kit (RTK-Ag) – require nasal or throat swab samples.
RT-PCR is considered the gold standard in diagnosing the Covid-19 virus.
It can detect if an individual has an active Covid-19 infection and the test has typically high sensitivity rates, though this also means the sample has to be carefully prepared to avoid contamination.<
RT-PCR is a molecular test that is able to detect minute quantities of Covid-19 virus’s ribonucleic acid (RNA) in the nasal or throat swab sample taken from an individual.
Chemicals are used on the swab to remove other substances and extract only the RNA in the sample.
The RNA is converted to DNA through the “reverse transcription” process, and extra short fragments of DNA are added by scientists to build DNA strands and to add marker labels to them to detect the virus.
The mixture is placed in a machine that creates copies of the viral DNA, during which the marker labels release a fluorescent dye that is measured by a computer.
Depending on the lab and logistics, results can be obtained in two hours, or up to several days if the sample needs to be shipped across distances.
The RTK-Ag test, on the other hand, is faster than the RT-PCR test, as it can generate results within 15 to 30 minutes.
As such, RTK-Ag has the advantage of detecting Covid-19 outbreaks quickly and in large quantities, but its accuracy is lower than the RT-PCR test and it may produce false-negative results (leading to a false sense of security).
The Health Ministry uses the RTK-Ag as an alternative to the RT-PCR in certain situations, in order to obtain test results within a shorter time in circumstances where molecular testing is not available.
Antigen tests work by detecting specific proteins on the surface of the virus, as opposed to the RT-PCR test which detects the virus’s genetic material.
Yet another Covid-19 test is the antibody test, which unlike the RT-PCR and RTK-Ag tests, is detected through a blood sample. Samples are obtained via pricking the finger or drawing of blood, and results can be obtained within a few days.
However, the antibody test is not suitable to be used to detect active Covid-19 infections as it can only show that a person has been (or never been) infected by the virus in the past.
The test picks up on antibodies, which are proteins created by a person’s immune system after they have been infected or vaccinated.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it will take one to three weeks after infection for a person’s body to produce antibodies.
MANY individuals and groups have shared suggestions of how to manage the Covid-19 pandemic. Allow me to summarise five key measures we critically need to take to manage the crisis.
Test extensively:
Ramping up our PCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) tests to 100,000 a day is insufficient. PCR tests are labour intensive and results are usually delayed. If it takes three to five days to get a result, this limits the value of the testing.
We need hundreds of thousands of RTK-Ag (antigen rapid test kit) tests on the ground. With a one- hour result time they offer rapid response and action when positive.
Even if they are only 75% sensitive, it significantly mutes the pandemic. Equivocal results can be sent for PCR testing. We should keep PCR tests for patients requiring admission and testing of high risk symptomatic persons (over 60 years with major comorbidities).
Restore contact tracing:
Contact tracing activities have been swamped by the huge numbers and have currently failed. We must learn from other nations.
Rapidly employ the more than 10,000 retrenched non-medical professionals, train and use them to re-establish contact tracing in all states. This will also free healthcare staff to do more vital tasks.
We must dramatically improve our handphone applications to allow for seamless contact tracing and notification of the public.
Support Health Ministry staff:
Our Health Ministry staff are long past burnout. The burden of excessive work, long hours wearing PPE (personal protective equipment), fears of contracting Covid-19 and lack of adequate emotional support have wrought havoc on a healthcare system that was always fragile and inadequate.
We must immediately offer permanent jobs to all Health Ministry staff on contract, as well as hire all available doctors, pharmacists and nurses waiting for jobs. Also consider graduating all final year doctors, pharmacists and nurses, using their continued formative assessments and prior examination results as a proxy indicator of performance.
Improve home quarantine:
Home quarantine is useful for Covid-19 individuals who are well and healthy. However, maintaining home quarantine for large numbers is a challenge. There are numerous reports of those who are supposed to be under home quarantine, either because they are positive or have been in close contact with a confirmed case, travelling outside their home to get food or visit a doctor.
In addition, many people are at a loss about what to do at home and are waiting for days for Health Ministry personnel to contact them. There must be a mechanism to improve current home quarantine conditions.
We should hire and train retrenched non-medical professionals and use them to monitor and support these individuals.
It may be important for the Health Ministry to offer hospitalised quarantine for those over 60 years of age with major comorbidities, as they are at high risk for death.
Widen pick up services:
Individuals who are found to be Covd-19 positive and require hospitalisation should not have to wait. We hear many anecdotal reports of such persons waiting for days to be admitted.
We recognise that the Health Ministry’s ambulance services are overwhelmed. We need to urgently widen the pick-up services. We can train and use private ambulance services, especially for those who are really ill.
For those who are mildly ill and require hospitalisation, we could work with established transport services (taxis, Grab, etc) to provide a dedicated pick up service with good PPE and protection for the drivers.
When there is a huge fire raging in a large region, using hand-held fire extinguishers will not work. We cannot continue with the same initiatives we have practised thus far to control the vast local outbreak.
Using imaginative, out-of-the box strategies are necessary. No one person or organisation has all the solutions or answers. Listening to diverse views is critical.
DATUK DR AMAR-SINGH HSS , Senior Consultant Paediatrician
Ministry details cleaning solutions for patients self-isolating at home
Clean those door knobs, tap faucets or other frequently touched surfaces.
Now that Covid-19 patients with mild or no symptoms at all are required to self-isolate at home instead of going to a quarantine centre, the Health Ministry has provided guidelines on sanitising your home if you are living with an infected person.
According to the ministry, the bathroom used by the patient should be disinfected at least once a day.
To prepare for the disinfectant solution, use five tablespoons of 5% sodium hypochlorite with 3.8 litres of water or four teaspoons of 5% sodium hypochlorite with 0.95 litres of water.
“The personal protective equipment needed are face mask, face shield, plastic apron and gloves.
“Surfaces can be cleaned with a normal detergent first, rinse and then clean using the disinfectant solution containing 0.1% sodium hypochlorite, ” it noted, adding that the person sanitising should wash their hands before and after the cleaning process.
Also, the ministry said that those who were living with a Covid-19 patient at home should wear a mask and disposable gloves when handling the patient’s clothes.
“Dirty clothes and linen should be stored in a sealed plastic or closed storage until it is ready to be washed.
“The clothes should also be separated from others.
“Don’t shake the laundry as the virus can be transmitted through the air, ” it said.
Health experts said the public should sanitise and disinfect shared spaces within their own house and workspace and especially if there was a Covid-19 case in the area.
Universiti Putra Malaysia medical epidemiologist Assoc Prof Dr Malina Osman said one of the basic principles for sanitisation was whether there was a risk of virus exposure.
“It depends on whether there is presence of possible infection in the area or not, ” she said.
Dr Malina said if there was a positive case at the workplace, sanitisation needed to be done at the person’s work desk and common areas including lift, railing, door knobs, toilet and other identified areas.
“There is no need to have a blanket rule to sanitise the whole building, the road to the office or the drainage system, ” she added.
Public health assistant Muhamad Shahir Mohd Razali said it was safe to use disinfectants to clean surfaces that were regularly touched such as table tops and door knobs.
“This can also be done at the workplace where sanitisation can be done once every two weeks.
“And for surfaces that are regularly touched, they can do it twice a day.
“This will help reduce the risk of transmitting diseases and viruses, ” he added.
Shahir said his team often conducted sanitisation at places where a Covid-19 patient had been to such as quarantine centres, offices, crematoriums or cemeteries.
“We sanitise the areas with a chemical solution which is sodium hypochlorite and water mixed according to the required measurement.
“The areas that we sanitise are the toilet, kitchen, bedroom and common areas, ” he said, noting that the PPE worn during disinfection would later be discarded in a bio-hazard plastic bag sealed and sprayed with detergent.
Malaysian Medical Association president Prof Datuk Dr Subramaniam Muniandy said disposable gloves or gloves dedicated for sanitising surfaces should be worn when sanitising.
“The home should also be sufficiently ventilated when sanitising to protect against inhaling harmful chemical vapours from the disinfectant.
“Surfaces should be disinfected after they are cleaned with soap and water, ” he said, noting that disposable gloves or rubber gloves should be worn and discarded properly.
Dr Subramaniam said mobile phones should also be wiped clean and disinfected everyday as it was the most used device often placed on various surfaces.
He said frequently touched surfaces such as door handles, switches, table tops and chairs should be cleaned at least twice a day.
“Staff should get into the habit of washing hands frequently with soap and water or hand sanitiser.
“In smaller companies, staff should clean and disinfect their own workstation, ” he said, adding that face masks should be worn in the office to protect others and surfaces from respiratory droplets.
Dr Malina emphasised that the basic measure in preventing Covid-19 infection was to take care of personal hygiene.
“Any person who has to be at the office, regardless of their Covid-19 status, as it is often unknown, should always avoid touching unnecessary areas, always wash their hands when touching various surfaces and should never allow their nasal droplets or saliva to contaminate the office or public areas.
“If there is a possible contamination, it should be cleaned as soon as possible, ” she added.
Dr Malina said the current measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 like working from home, reducing the number of employees to 30% and stricter SOP were adequate.
