Have clear, consistent SOPs for endemic phase, says ex-deputy health minister
PETALING JAYA: As Malaysia prepares to transition to the Covid-19 endemic phase, a former deputy health minister has called for simple and consistent SOPs. Dr Lee Boon Chye said problems would arise if the SOPs were not clear or were too complicated. Praising the government for planning ahead, the Gopeng…
PETALING JAYA: As Malaysia prepares to transition to the Covid-19 endemic phase, a former deputy health minister has called for simple and consistent SOPs.
Dr Lee Boon Chye said problems would arise if the SOPs were not clear or were too complicated.
Praising the government for planning ahead, the Gopeng MP said SOPs such as encouraging good ventilation must be drawn up for all businesses, especially restaurants, and places where a large number of people would gather.
He said it was important to work with local councils to draw up the guidelines.
Lee said although the country was making plans to move to the endemic phase, frequent testing and efficient contact tracing should continue in the event vaccines were not sufficient due to the emergence of new variants.
“The government should also have a standby option of an intermittent lockdown that is more structured and simple to flatten the curve if things do get worse,” he said.
“There must be enough intensive care unit (ICU) beds and ventilators. Sufficient manpower is also needed especially when handling people quarantined at home so they can be monitored daily.”
Malaysian Medical Association president Dr Subramaniam Muniandy said a long-term strategy for managing infections must be put in place to prevent disruptions in daily activities.
“We hope to see an increased healthcare workforce starting with permanent positions for contract healthcare workers,” he said. “The pandemic has shown how important healthcare human resources are in saving lives and livelihood.”
Subramaniam said SOPs could be relaxed for the fully vaccinated to dine in at restaurants provided there was good ventilation.
Extending restaurant opening hours to midnight could also help the sector to recover, he said.
Similarly, resorts with fully immunised staff should be allowed to reopen to those who were fully vaccinated. However, interstate travel should only open up when more people were protected.
On international travel, Subramaniam said the government should start engaging with other countries on opening borders to fully vaccinated visitors with negative polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) Covid-19 test results.
He reminded the people that there would still be a need to wear face masks in public, observe physical distancing and sanitise their hands.
Recently, defence minister Hishammuddin Hussein announced that four ministries would meet soon to draw up SOPs and concessions in preparation for the transition to the Covid-19 endemic phase.
He said he would meet with health minister Khairy Jamaluddin, finance minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz and communications and multimedia minister Annuar Musa.
This comes after an announcement by Khairy last week that Malaysia would be transitioning to the endemic phase by the end of October. He said the nation must be prepared to continue living with the virus. — Free Malaysia Today