PETALING JAYA: Another wave of Covid-19 infections cannot be ruled out following the lifting of interstate travel curbs, says Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin (pic) as he urges Malaysians to be responsible and practise health measures in order to avoid a surge.
Drawing on the reality of other highly vaccinated countries which have inoculated over 80% of their population, but are now facing a surge in new Covid-19 infections although upwards of 90% are either mild or asymptomatic, Khairy said Malaysia cannot afford another wave.
“I know everyone is going to be rushing to the borders tomorrow. But in the back of my mind, as the Health Minister, my biggest worry is another wave and that’s not something that is beyond the realm of possibility.
“Look at some of the other countries with high vaccination rates that are similar to ours – over 80% – but they are having another wave of infections although the majority of their new cases, over 90% and above, are either mild or asymptomatic.
“If our public healthcare system can’t handle the surge, ICU cases, ventilators, oxygenated beds and admissions into hospitals, then it will put a tremendous stress not only on the public healthcare infrastructure, but also on frontliners.
“We can’t afford that anymore. With the Health Ministry, I have done early preparations to ensure we can deal with the surge if it happens, but we don’t want to deal with a surge.
“We ask all Malaysians to be responsible, and if you really value and appreciate what the frontliners have been doing for the past one and half years, you will be responsible, you will be self-aware and take care of your own health to ensure that a surge does not happen,” said Khairy during the Doctors’ Day celebration organised by the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) on Sunday.
Khairy added that the reopening of interstate borders are not only crucial to the economy, but also for the mental health and well-being of Malaysians who have been separated from their loved ones following the ban since Jan 13.
Lifting the interstate travel ban after 90% of the adult population has been immunised against Covid-19 is not a scientific threshold, said Khairy, but it is being done as the government feels there is wide enough coverage of vaccinated recipients.
Khairy said the government also decided to go one step further by allowing fully-vaccinated Malaysians to travel overseas without having to apply for the MyTravelPass permit from the Immigration Department.
Health experts are also urging Malaysians to strictly follow public health measures when travelling.
Prof Dr Moy Foong Ming from Universiti Malaya’s Department of Social and Preventive Medicine said while the reopening of borders is to allow people to return to normality, the public must weigh the risks of their actions.
She advised people to avoid crowded and poorly ventilated areas, and also going for a holiday or crossing states when a lot of people are likely to be doing that.
“Before going back to meet family members, it will be good if self-testing can be done to rule out the asymptomatic Covid-19 status,” she said.
Epidemiologist and public health physician Prof Dr Sanjay Rampal of Universiti Malaya also advised people to be vigilant and identify times when they may be at higher risk and to mitigate those circumstances.
“You can reduce your risk by avoiding congested areas, maintaining good hand hygiene, going for outdoor rather than indoor activities, and ensuring your area has good ventilation.
“Interstate travel restriction by itself is ineffective at reducing Covid-19 transmission, rather, it’s the people’s compliance to SOPs that are effective at reducing the risk of transmission,” he said.