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CYBERJAYA: Malaysia is well prepared to handle an increase in Covid-19 cases, but the country has several weaknesses to address, said a representative of the World Health Organization (WHO).
Dr Jacqueline Lo Ying-Ru, WHO Representative in Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore, said weaknesses include preventing infections in detention centers and strengthening the surveillance system by increasing awareness within the private health sector.
“I think Malaysia is well prepared for the next wave. (But) it can be good to look at the closed environments, the confined environments, the prisons, (and see that) the measures recommended by the government are also actually implemented, ”she told Bernama in an exclusive interview in her office.
“I understand that preparations are underway and steps have been taken, but it has to go to implementation. It has to be monitored very carefully. “
Malaysia has seen a return to double- and triple-digit locally transmitted Covid-19 infections after reporting a hiatus in infections in July and August, when most of its daily burden of cases came from abroad.
To date, 582 inmates, prison staff, relatives and close contacts in Tawau and Lahad Datu and one person in Sandakan, all in Sabah, have tested positive for the virus. All of them are within the group of detention centers.
He said it was necessary to improve the surveillance system by educating the private health sector about the various symptoms of Covid-19.
“We know that in Covid-19, the majority of cases are asymptomatic. They may have very mild symptoms or even no symptoms, ”he said.
“So it’s very difficult and complicated (to determine) when do we test? It is very important that the constant training is extended to the facilities of the private sector because Covid-19 can be present anywhere ”.
Malaysia has had several cases stemming from the inability of private physicians and healthcare professionals to conduct tests and notify health authorities of potential Covid-19 cases.
Private healthcare professionals are required, but not required, to test and report patients with severe acute respiratory illnesses and symptoms of influenza-like illness as part of the Covid-19 surveillance system.
He said that to prevent this, healthcare professionals should take advantage of the easy availability of testing in Malaysia and do more testing.
Malaysia has improved its daily testing capacity, from 11,500 in March to around 40,000 now.
He congratulated Malaysia for stopping testing only symptomatic individuals and expanding testing to other communities.
He said scaling up testing was important in finding sporadic cases, like the four reported in Kedah on Sunday.
“Testing and searching for cases is one of the key strategies to prevent further transmission of Covid-19. It is a very important strategy, ”he said.
He also recalled that it is important to continue to practice Covid-19 preventive measures long after a safe and effective vaccine becomes available, which the WHO anticipates by the end of next year.
“The vaccine alone is not the solution. The vaccine has to be available in the quantities we need, ”he said.
Malaysia joined the Covax facility, an initiative of Gavi, Vaccine Alliance, Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and WHO, on September 19.
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