MALAYSIANS should remain wary of Covid-19, because cases could continue to rise if they ignore precautionary measures, health experts said.
Epidemiologist Dr Vinogiri K.S. said people are now taking the threat of Covid-19 too lightly.
“They are not practising stringent measures designed for their safety,” Vinogiri told The Malaysian Insight.
“As we ‘transition to endemicity’ we have stopped following safety measures. Very few do self-tests, even if they have symptoms.
“These are the ignorant people who spread the infections. They should know that the impact of Covid-19 differs from one person to the other.”
Vinogiri said virus figures provided by the Health Ministry (MOH) are only of people who report they have contracted the virus.
She added that many people don’t bother to register an infection with MySejahtera or their local hospital, so “there are many undocumented cases”.
There has been a rise in daily cases as the Hari Raya holiday draws near, with 700 daily infections, the MOH said.
This is more than double the usual 200-300 daily cases.
In its monthly report, the World Health Organization said Covid-19 infections had shot up by nearly 481% in southeast Asia.
However, despite case numbers climbing, the MOH stopped providing daily updates on April 8. No reasons were given for scaling back the service.
Meanwhile, Vinogiri also noted the emergence of sub-variants, adding their spread is made easy with the reopening of international borders.
“Without any restrictions (to tests prior and upon arrival) people are just travelling in and out.
“Some of the sub-variants won’t have the common symptoms, so the carrier won’t know and spreads it,” she said.
She said people, especially those in the high-risk groups, should start practising good hygiene again.
“People now think Covid-19 is treatable and that they are shielded by the vaccine, but they need to know that even if you are vaccinated and the chance is greatly reduced, you can still become infected and succumb to the virus,” she said.
Meanwhile, Universiti Putra Malaysia’s virologist associate professor Chee Hui Yee said human movement and the festive season could result in a rise in infections.
“Ramadan bazaars, travelling during holidays, Cheng Beng, and Tamil New Year could have caused the rise in cases,” she said.
Chee also warned of the more transmissible Omicron sub-variant, XBB.1.16.
“According to data from the global initiative on sharing all influenza data, Malaysia has recorded 13 XBB.1.16 cases since March 23.
However, the majority of the variants are XBB.1 and XBB.1.19.1, she said.
Chee encouraged the public to wear masks whenever necessary, especially if they have symptoms.
She also urged those with symptoms to take a test as soon as possible. – April 18, 2023.
By Ravin Palanisamy
Tarikh Input: 02/05/2023 |
Kemaskini: 02/05/2023 | norashiqin
PERKONGSIAN MEDIA
