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PETALING JAYA: The Covid-19 vaccine is on the horizon, but for now, health experts have called on Malaysians to seek early medical attention to prevent serious complications should they contract the virus.
The advisory came amid statistics on Friday showing that 42 districts, comprising 72 sub-districts, in Malaysia are in the red zone.
These included densely populated places like Kuala Lumpur, Damansara, Cheras, Petaling, Klang, Ipoh, Seremban, and Kota Kinabalu.
Furthermore, there have also been daily deaths from November 2 until now, except for December 4.
About 55% of the 300 deaths recorded between March 17 and November 10 involved people who were in Stage 4 when they arrived at the hospital.
Those in Stage 5 were at almost 27%. (Data provided by the Ministry of Health in Dewan Rakyat last month).
Most people seek treatment at a late stage as they were “in denial,” said Malaysian Physicians Coalition Association President Dr. Raj Kumar Maharajah.
“With early detection and treatment, you can stop the spread of Covid-19 and decrease complications,” he said, adding that his stay in the hospital would also require less time.
According to the Ministry of Health, all people diagnosed as positive for Covid-19 are classified into five stages.
In the first stage, patients are asymptomatic, while those in the second stage have mild symptoms but no pneumonia.
In the third stage, patients are symptomatic and have pneumonia, while those in the fourth stage have symptoms, pneumonia, and require supplemental oxygen.
For those in the fifth stage, they are diagnosed with a serious illness and need to be intubated and hooked up to a ventilator.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the most common symptoms are fever, dry cough and tiredness.
Less common symptoms are those with aches and pains, sore throat, diarrhea, conjunctivitis, headache, loss of taste or smell, skin rash, or discoloration of the fingers or toes.
Those with severe symptoms experienced shortness of breath or shortness of breath, chest pain, and loss of speech or movement.
Dr Raj said the categorization was to find out the severity and available treatments.
To encourage people to get tested, he said that free Covid-19 screenings or subsidized tests should be provided, adding that educating the public about the disease was also important.
Dr Rafdzah Ahmad Zaki, a specialist in public health medicine at the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine at the University of Malaya, said the categorization of patients was for “the different management of patients at these stages and their possible outcomes.”
Those suffering from mild symptoms of Covid-19 could quickly develop severe and life-threatening levels.
“It is important to get an early diagnosis so that we can prevent further spread (of the virus) and identify close contacts,” he said.
She said that most people were unaware of her condition, as the early stages of the disease included only mild symptoms.
“It is similar to many other viral infections, most of which can be self-limited and will resolve without treatment. The vast majority of people may not realize they have been infected with Covid-19 until they are tested or are seriously ill, “he said.
Dr. Rafdzah noted that there were patients who showed rapid deterioration within seven to 14 days from the onset of symptoms to severe illness.
“Those who had contact with a positive case should get tested. People with diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, old age, or other underlying medical conditions with mild symptoms should seek early medical attention for proper diagnosis and monitoring.
“Early detection of Covid-19 will reduce complications and lead to a better outcome. Early diagnosis will also prevent further spread, especially to your family members and close friends, ”he said.
Dr. Victor Hoe, a public health medicine specialist at Universiti Malaya, said that since the Ministry of Health did not account for the breakdown of patients who were late for treatment, he also said that perhaps those patients “may not have known the severity of his condition. “
“My advice is that when you develop any of the symptoms associated with Covid-19 such as fever, headache, sore throat, nausea / vomiting, diarrhea, acute nasal congestion or runny nose, you should seek treatment from your GP or the nearest clinic.
“We must understand that many people with the symptoms mentioned above may not be at risk of having Covid-19,” he said.
Dr. Hoe, Dr. Raj, and Dr. Rafdzah agreed that the best prevention method at this time was to continue to follow the SOP.
In July, Health Director General Tan Sri Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah said that 70% of Covid-19 cases in the country were asymptomatic.
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