GEORGE TOWN: The “Infectious Disease Tracker” – the latest feature in MySejahtera – has received the thumbs up from parents and kindergarten operators.

       “We can track hotspots, especially on the hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) and keep parents informed.

       “This could probably contain the spread much earlier as we know in advance which areas to monitor,” said Sally Ng, 51, who runs several kindergartens on Penang island.

       Ng said the tracker could help manage and contain any infections at preschool centres.

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       “The children’s health and safety are our utmost priority, which is why we ensure face masks are still a must in our kindergartens,” she said.Public transport company manager Osman Amir also lauded the tracker, which shows the number of active cases of diseases such as HFMD, dengue, rabies and measles.

       “I have an 11-year-old son. The HFMD tracker is very useful to monitor diseases in the vicinity of my house.

       “I can still remember during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic when kindergartens were closed with many children infected,” said Osman, 49.

       He said once the hotspots were identified, it would be easier to keep the children indoors to contain the spread.

       Accounts executive Vijaya Prabakharan, 36, said the tracker gave her peace of mind as she could now avoid bringing her two children, aged five and six, to such areas.

       “There is always a risk taking kids even to neighbourhood parks, which could be a hotspot for dengue, if we are not aware of it.

       “The tracker plays a role in keeping the people safe,” she said.

       Virologist Dr Kumitaa Theva Das of Universiti Sains Malaysia said the availability of data had always been a key public health strategy in the fight against infectious diseases.

       “The latest feature in MySejahtera has a hotspot tracker for infectious diseases and displays the number of cases that have happened in the past seven to 25 days within a 5km radius.

       “Similar to what we learnt from Covid-19, the tracker could help the authorities and community to be better prepared.

       “For example, if fogging is needed or whether vaccination (shots) should be done for rabies,” she said.