Star Online:
Conditional MCO too soon, says Nipah virus scientist
 |
Universiti Malaya Academician Emeritus Professor Datuk Dr Lam Sai Kit (pic) said the number of cases has not gone down sufficiently for the country to consider being "out of the woods."
He urged the government to listen to the concerns expressed by the various sectors of the population and review the conditional MCO decision.
"There are still too many local transmissions: 95 local transmissions out of 105 new cases on Saturday (May 2)," he said.
“No one is objecting to the loosening of MCO, but the relaxation is far too much and too soon," he said in a press statement on Sunday (May 3).
On Friday (May 1), Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced the reopening of almost all sectors of the economy and business activities, including shopping malls, department stores and even restaurants, beginning May 4.
However, business operators must adhere to new standard operating procedures (SOPs) and guidelines.
Dr Lam also said that the testing capacity was still not adequate compared with other countries, especially using RT-PCR recommended by the Chinese health experts who had an exchange of information with the Health Ministry.
He also said Malaysia had not managed to minimise hot spots and more areas had been put under enhanced MCO.
"With the relaxation of MCO, there is every likelihood of a surge of new clusters and cases. Can we really cope with increased testing and contact tracing?
"Can we empower and engage the community to do their part in preventing the spread of the coronavirus?" he asked.
He expressed concerns that if the country face a resurgence of cases, the MCO would have to be reinstated and what had been undertaken would be wasted.
Dr Lam said that the Malaysian Trades Union Congres secretary-general J. Solomon had urged the PM to delay the implementation of conditional MCO so that there would be more time for employers, workers and consumers to adjust to the new order, while Consumers Association of Penang president
Mohideen Abdul Kader said the government should adopt a soft landing approach as advocated earlier by the Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham.
He also pointed out that the relaxation of MCO had resulted in a whopping 500,000 applications to travel back to their homes from interstate from May 7 to 10.
For the conditional MCO to be successful, it has to be well-planned and not rushed, he said.
While he was aware of the economic cost involved in the implementation of MCO, which had resulted in a total loss estimated at RM63bil since it was implemented, Dr Lam said a better exit plan than conditional MCO was needed, with phased opening of sectors or businesses and with emphasis on safety rather than a fast economic recovery.
“I urge the government to listen to the concerns expressed by the various sectors of the population and review the conditional MCO decision.
"In the meantime, people should continue to practise the original MCO regulations (social distancing, stay home, handwashing and personal hygiene, work from home, avoid crowds) and businesses that feel they are not ready to reopen due to safety concern for their workers and customers/clients, should defer their opening, ” he said.
Ah yes... just refreshes the memory that Sg.Nipah is the name of the river that runs through Bukit Pelanduk, the Chinese Malaysian village that was the epicenter of the deadly Nipah virus epidemic in 1998.
ReplyDeleteIt is no slur on the locality, just a historical fact.
That is why many still call the current Virus pandemic the "Wuhan Virus".
I prefer to call it the CCP Virus, as a reminder of the process pathway how it became a global pandemic.
That's yr own preference based on yr fart!
DeleteThe recognized nomenclature adopted since 2015 is neutral such as not to create/provide biasness that mfer, like u, would used to convey it twisted fart!
U r just showcasing what type of moneyed old dickhead u r!
The first AIDS case was in Los Angeles in 1981. This was long before the new nomenclature method. But WHO / CDC didn't name it LA Virus. I wonder why.
Deletehttps://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/wk/mm5021.pdf
ccp is the first that use the term wuhan virus, we cant simply change unless there is proof yunnan bat fly to california.
Deletehttps://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JfXlAm0PdVY
DeleteWakakakakaka…
Sleep pretenders, sleep on it!
We have here dua ekor Sargon la. In the video posted by CK, Nathan Rich did a damn good job killing that moron Sargon...OMG, there's too many of these brain-dead and brainwashed around, kinda depressing.
DeleteTx for the vid, CK
The states are thumbing their noses at Perdana Menteri Masuk Pintu Belakang and Menteri Di-Masuk Pintu Belakang.
ReplyDeleteAnd most KL-ites will probably not comply either because how to start work when tadikas, child-care centres and schools are still closed?
These states constitute 80-90% of our national economy.
QUOTE
As of Monday morning Nine states are not following or fully complying with the Federal Government’s move to ease conditions and let businesses resume with set guidelines under the conditional movement control order (MCO) starting today.
Kedah, Sabah, Pahang, Penang, Kelantan and Sarawak have decided not to follow the move while Selangor, Perak and Negri Sembilan said it would limit the number of businesses allowed to resume operations and restrict dine-ins at restaurants and sports and recreational activities.
UNQUOTE