LETTER | After one and a half years, when countries like the US and UK are turning a corner for the better, Malaysia is turning the wrong corner with increasing daily Covid-19 cases and deaths that are hitting record highs. The time has come for a full review and reset in our management of the pandemic devoid of any political considerations.

Locking down the whole country every time the Covid-19 cases and deaths go up is only a temporary measure. We are now at the crossroads where the benefits of a prolonged full lockdown no longer outweigh the economic risk.

It’s a case of damned if we do or damned if we don’t. Economically, a prolonged lockdown condemns businesses into liquidation and severely damages the economy. Unfortunately, it’s a balance that we need to strike.

Cases will come down during the lockdown but will spike when the movement control order (MCO) is lifted. In hindsight, there was a window of opportunity last year when we should have commenced wide-scale free testing in populous states like Selangor, Johor, Sabah, Perak, and Penang where there are potential hotspots of Covid-19 infections.

There are many people out there who are unknowingly Covid-19 positive and present a clear and present danger in being a super spreader.

Fortunately, Selangor is currently undertaking widespread free testing and is already picking up many silent Covid-19 positive people which largely accounts for the high number of cases in the state. The short-term pain with high numbers will put Selangor in good stead in the long run. It bodes well in the long-term management of the pandemic in the state.

Other states should follow suit with this testing endeavor. As the saying goes, better late than never. Otherwise, we are just hoping for the best with more lockdowns while our snail pace vaccination program is being implemented. Wide-scale free testing coupled with data collected via MySejahtera will greatly enhance the efficiency of our pandemic management.

Vaccination for herd immunity is now the only and most viable option to contain this pandemic. The progress of our national vaccination program leaves a lot to be desired and has been a great disappointment thus far on many fronts from enrolment to procurement to the lack of vaccination channels.

It has to be expedited with more aggressive daily vaccination objectives and more vaccination centres (PPV) as soon as possible. Albeit late, at least we are now appointing more PPVs and are exploring drive-through PPVs. Drive-through PPVs are a good idea and should be implemented as quickly as possible.

PPVs have to be brought closer to the people and be more easily accessible. We should consider having PPVs in shopping malls and employing mobile vaccination trucks that can be positioned in town centres and used for remote areas. More clinics and private hospitals need to be roped in as PPV than the current ones that were appointed.

The only silver lining that came out of the vaccination program is the great efficiency, hard work, and dedication of the front liners, i.e. doctors, nurses, and others helping out with the vaccination of patient after patient every single second and minute across all PPVs. The rakyat recognises your hard good work and we greatly appreciate what you are doing.

There is now a strong desire and call from the rakyat to be vaccinated fast and we need the authorities to act faster. Every delay means more cases, more deaths, more businesses folding up, and a looming economic disaster that may take years to recover.

Hopefully, after this pandemic episode ends, we will have a national blueprint on how to tackle any future pandemic.