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PETALING JAYA: Two medical groups have attributed the recent spike in Covid-19 cases to the government’s failure to institute strict quarantine procedures for those returning from Sabah.
Spokespersons for the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) and the Galen Center for Health and Social Policy said a 14-day quarantine should have been made mandatory regardless of the initial test results, and that returnees were tested a second time. the thirteenth day. These procedures would be similar to the procedures for international arrivals.
The lack of quarantine, they added, was compounded by the lack of practice of social distancing, the use of masks and other standard operating procedures.
Recently, Lembah Pantai MP Fahmi Fadzli criticized the decision not to quarantine returnees from Sabah before September 27 and, after that, to allow them to leave without any temporary restriction of movement after a single negative test.
In a televised message yesterday, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin admitted that the Sabah elections had contributed to the increase in cases over the past month.
Dr. Subramaniam Muniandy, president of MMA, criticized the government for being slow to react to the risks posed by returnees from Sabah during the election period.
“Mandatory testing and quarantine for returnees should have been imposed earlier as many Malaysians were already traveling to affected areas in Sabah in the days leading up to state elections,” he told the FMT.
Galen Center CEO Azrul Khalib agreed, saying this was a decision “that should have been easy to make.”
“The 14 days of self-quarantine would have been absolutely effective in controlling the spread of the infection, particularly from politicians who would have met and engaged with many more people than the average person,” he said.
Azrul said holding elections during the pandemic was risky, but added that those concerns could have been mitigated if they had been “handled properly” and “had there been discipline and strong compliance with SOPs by both politicians and the general public. “.
Subramaniam said the lack of adherence to the widely accepted SOPs deserved great blame for the further increase in cases.
“The Health Ministry had done its part by repeatedly reminding the public of the importance of adhering to standard operating procedures, but it appears that many, including many politicians campaigning in Sabah, ignored this,” he said.
“Some of the politicians and people present at these political events were seen not observing the physical distancing, while some had their masks down, as can be clearly seen in the images of the campaign highlights on television.” .
But Dr Kuljit Singh, president of the Malaysian Private Hospital Association, said that poor quarantine procedures should not be blamed without evidence to support the claim.
He said those behind the decision were likely looking at the pattern of spread and infectivity. Perhaps this was the advice they were given, he added.
He told the FMT that it could not be known for sure if the increase was caused by poor quarantine procedures.
Dr. Subramaniam said that politicians must lead by example.
“Members of the public are being caught and fined for disobeying RMCOs and SOPs on a daily basis, but VIPs appear to be getting away with it,” he said.
“People are now expressing their anger at the double standards in the application.”
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