We the undersigned view with much apprehension and concern the current status of the Covid-19 outbreak in the country.
Our national metrics paint a very bleak picture of Covid-19 pandemic management. Despite movement control orders (MCOs) and other health interventions, the daily reported cases are not decreasing.
The Cumulative Incidence Density (per 100,000 population) and the Infection Rate (active cases per 1,000 population) is not flattening, with the latest national Infection Rate registered at 0.879 per 1,000 population, meaning between eight and nine persons are actively infected for every 10,000 people.
The testing positive rate (rolling seven-day average) is rising, registering 8.9 percent on Jan 3,2021, well above the World Health Organization s (WHO) 5.0 percent benchmark of effective pandemic control and containment.
Keeping a close eye: Foreign workers waiting to be given a swab test at the Pasar Borong Meru in Klang. KAMARUL ARIFFIN/The Star
PETALING JAYA: The UK variant of the Covid-19 virus is transmitted in the same way as the other variants and keeping strictly to the current SOP should suffice, say public health medicine specialists.
Assoc Prof Dr Mohammad Farhan Rusli from International Islamic University of Malaysia likened the UK variant to the thousands of mutations in the influenza virus and said the priority should be to stop an outbreak if it does arrive on Malaysian shores.
He said the UK variant had been found to have nearly two dozen mutations which were worrying as it might occur on the proteins that the virus uses to attach itself and infect cells.