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PETALING JAYA: A worrying rise in Covid-19 cases and rising Rt (indicator of how fast the virus is spreading) could spell dark days for Malaysians.
The reference “Rt” is the infectivity rate and estimates the average number of people that a Covid-19 positive patient can infect.
A health expert has called for an interdistrict movement control (MCO) order to be imposed in states where the situation threatens to spiral out of control.
The number of cases jumped to 260 yesterday, the second highest in a day since June 4, when 277 cases were detected.
On top of that, all but one of yesterday’s cases were broadcast locally. The only imported case involved a returnee from the UK.
Of the 259 local cases, Sabah had the highest number of 118, with 31 with a history of travel to Sabah, followed by Kedah with 98, 13 cases in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor with 13.
The others were detected in Perlis (two), Penang (one), Terengganu (two), Pahang (one), Johor (five), Malacca (one) and Putrajaya (five).
Four new groups were detected yesterday: the Jalan Meru group in Selangor, the Joo Hwa group in Sabah, the Selasih group in Putrajaya, and the Bah Ketil group in Kedah.
A state order restricting interdistrict travel will be imposed in Sabah from 12:01 tomorrow until October 16.
With the Rt in Selangor reaching 1.95 on Wednesday (meaning that one index case can infect 1.95 people), the director of Taylor University School of Medicine, Dr. Rusli Nordin, said it would be better if it was implemented. an MCO in Selangor.
However, he said a nationwide MCO is not necessary at this time, but strict controls on movement between districts and interstate are needed to prevent the situation from spiraling out of control.
Rusli said that although the test was negative with an RT-PCR, or rapid antigen test, there were incidents of false negative results. This is because the RTK-Ag test has a sensitivity of 90%, according to the Ministry of Health.
According to a statement from the ministry in July, there could be false negative results for 10 people out of 100 people tested.
Rusli said it takes days after exposure for asymptomatic carriers to show symptoms, and the ministry should consider tighter controls in Selangor to reduce the Rt rate below 1.0.
Health Director General Tan Sri Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah has said that those who tested negative will not have to undergo a mandatory home quarantine upon return from Sabah.
Sarawak has imposed a mandatory 14-day home isolation for people entering the state from Sabah and Labuan, with tests conducted on day two and day 14 of quarantine.
Noor Hisham said yesterday that returnees would only be isolated if they tested negative but were exposed to positive patients. Those who showed symptoms but tested negative would also be quarantined.
On Wednesday, Noor Hisham said that Selangor recorded an Rt of 1.95 due to an increase in the number of daily Covid-19 cases of between 10 and 15 compared to its previous figures of just two or three daily cases. Sabah’s Rt figure was 1.26 and Kedah’s rate was 0.65.
Epidemiologist Datuk Dr. Awang Bulgiba Awang Mahmud, a professor at the Universiti Malaya, said the number of cases in Selangor was generally low previously, but those who returned from Sabah had caused a sudden increase in cases in Selangor.
“When people started coming back from Sabah, they brought the virus and passed it on to others. So the numbers just went up, causing the Rt to skyrocket, ”he said.
“It is a concern and must be addressed quickly. By taking swift action to address this issue, we can prevent it from spreading to others. “
He said Rt in Selangor is not expected to drop below 1.0 in the next few days.
“That is why I am (all) in favor of mandatory quarantine in the centers for returnees from Sabah, as it is obviously the point of access in the country at the moment. We need to consider all returnees as possibly infected until proven otherwise, ”he said.
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