‘NO REASON TO BE COMPLACENT OVER COVID-19’
Cases may shoot back up if we are not cautious, warns Dr Noor Hisham
HEALTH director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah has reminded Malaysians not to be complacent with the drop in daily local Covid-19 cases.
He said it was vital that the public continued to adhere to standard operating procedures (SOPs) despite a drop in the number of infections in the country.
“Even though cases have gone down, it may shoot back up if we are not cautious. Avoid the 3Cs (crowded places, confined spaces and close conversation) and practise the 3W (wash, wear and warn),” he said at his press conference here yesterday.
Dr Noor Hisham said to ensure that the numbers continued to drop, the government would conduct clinical surveillance and screening of targeted groups.
This focused approach was more cost effective, he said, and had been done in other countries that coped with the pandemic without mass testing.
He added that with such targeted approach, the resources used to conduct Covid-19 tests and other screening activities could be carefully planned and would avoid wastage as the country still faced a long battle against the pandemic.
“Among the focused methods taken include maximising prevention and control of the outbreak, such as through the implementation of the Movement Control Order, early active case detection and response to Covid19 clusters, where each cluster is thoroughly monitored.
“Also, screening of targeted groups, especially among the nine high-risk groups which have been identified in the country.”
Dr Noor Hisham said a clinical surveillance system had been started on Feb 12 and was being conducted in ministry hospitals and clinics.
Clinical surveillance included the sampling of patients with influenza-like-illness and severe acute respiratory infection, and pre-operative surgery for emergency and semi-emergency cases in government hospitals.
As of July 2, the ministry had reported 113 cases detected through clinical surveillance.
“Surveillance activities act as early detection and early warning for Covid-19 outbreak in Malaysia.
“This system enables the government to take containment action immediately,” he added.
On daily cases, Dr Noor Hisham said five new Covid-19 cases had been reported, all involving Malaysians.
He said of the five cases, three were imported cases and two were locally-infected cases.
“The three imported cases involved Malaysians returning from Qatar, Turkey and Oman, while local cases involve pre-referral testing in Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.”
This brought the tally to 8,648 cases, with 81 active cases.
Another nine cases had recovered and were discharged, increasing the total recovery to 8,446 cases or 97.7 per cent. No new deaths were reported, with the death toll remaining at 121.
On travel bubbles, Dr Noor Hisham said Malaysia and Singapore would be announcing passenger categories allowed to travel between both countries.
He said the categories were being determined and that discussions with Singapore had moved beyond the preliminary stage.
“Maybe we will determine which groups will be allowed to travel. God-willing, we will announce this soon.”
Apart from Singapore, discussions for travel bubbles had also started with Brunei, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
“We will need to monitor the current situation in each country and what SOPs can be used for both countries.”
Dr Noor Hisham also said there was no need for Parliament staff and media personnel to undergo Covid-19 test before the next Parliament sitting starting from July 13.
Only individuals who showed symptoms would need to be tested, he said.