Reuters
A COVID-19 disaster is looming in Malaysia as we watch the case numbers rise. It is semantics to argue whether this a fourth wave or a resurgence of the third wave. What we know is that our control measures are no longer effective, deaths are increasing, younger persons are dying (some with no chronic illnesses) and our intensive care units (ICUs) are getting choked.
Our fear is not just death but “Long Covid”, ie 10%-30% of all adults that get infected, even with a mild illness, may suffer long-term damage to organs and be debilitated for many months.
It would be foolish to think that we cannot reach a state like India is in today. Don't forget what happened to Italy early in the pandemic – they have a much better health infrastructure compared with ours and yet were overrun. Even recently, in Britain, ambulances carrying numerous Covid-19 patients had to queue to get access to hospital beds. Our national health services have been poorly funded and have had limited development for decades. If the current “wave” escalates our health services may have difficulty coping.