YOURSAY | 'We have come to a stage where we have lost control of the infection.'

Covid-19 (Jan 2): New cases exceed 2,000 for third-consecutive day, 9 deaths

Pokokelapa: New Covid-19 cases have exceeded the 2,000 mark in recent weeks. The majority of cases are no longer clusters linked to lock-ups, prisons and immigration detention centres.

This actually means the virus is out in the community. Which again means the community spread is beyond control and the virus is spreading far and wide.

As numbers keep going up, the spread will become easier and can suddenly turn exponential, especially with the activities almost back to normal and SOPs (standard operating procedures) are not adhered to with strict enforcement.

The two recent exoduses due to the long weekends will be an ‘added bonus’ for the virus.

This has already stretched our healthcare system, with some areas perhaps experiencing a critical situation. Not to forget, the enormous effect it is now having on other illnesses that need attention.

Many check-ups and surgeries may have to be postponed or even cancelled, adding to the further increase in morbidity and mortality.

There are many other issues that we have not dug into. One is the post-infection complications that may be affecting those who have recovered but are unable to have a full recovery.

We have come to a stage where we have lost control of the infection. With no other means of managing the spread, all we are hoping for is for the vaccine to be in by late February.

All the above concerns will continue for another year or even longer because two doses of the vaccine need to be administered and cover significant numbers of the population for it to be effective.

Again, once the numbers rise exponentially, the chances of a mutant strain emerging are higher.

What contingency plans do the government and KKM (Health Ministry) have? We cannot just sit around and say that our mortality numbers are low and be happy about that.

We must remember that the numbers of deaths indirectly due to non-Covid illness are also beginning to become significant as the healthcare system becomes critical.

There are many unanswered questions, and the transparency in informing the people of the true picture is not forthcoming. This is simply very apparent because everything is played down till it happens and the blame is always on everything else, except the people in power and the one person who is in charge in the fight against Covid-19.

Till today, there has been no effort in creating a team of people to collectively come up with capabilities to control this pandemic, which is slowly and surely getting into a critical stage. The virus waits for no one!

Velarooks: Exactly, it seems like the government has given up. Why bother with the October CMCO (conditional movement control order) if it was only going to be implemented half-heartedly and unlikely to work?

The least they can do now is just to limit movement out of the Klang Valley. All other peninsular states can do what they want. Just keep Klang Valley under some degree of movement control and enforce the SOPs strictly.

It is still in the realms of possibility that the longer the infection numbers grow, the higher the chance of a mutation. If we see something similar to the UK, we're going to be through a lot worse then what we've experienced so far, and at least UK has started rolling out the vaccine there.

We are still miles off our rollout of significant volumes of the vaccine. At 400,000 doses by February and March, it would be rather meaningless.

GreenViper4010: You just have to love what Health director-general (DG) Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said: "However, the number of recoveries was even higher with 3,321."

It is like a man jumping off a 50-storey building and waving at you through the window as he falls by the 30th floor: "So far, so good... alhamdulillah."

Govt mulls keeping asymptomatic Covid-19 patients at home

Anonymous_15897060865429524: DG, first you said that there are plenty of beds. You kept repeating this despite the warning bells. Then you said it was because of insufficient ambulances. Now, when capacity has reached the breaking point, only you admit the truth.

Why can’t the Health Ministry be proactive? Instead, they try to cover up, deny, spin, until the truth cannot be suppressed any longer. Only then they admit the facts.

Dr Raman: DG, I am sorry to say, you have lost the war. For your own dignity, just step down or step aside and let the ‘air suam’ minister take over. At least, we will be tickled daily amid the gloomy news.

You can clearly see the situation is out of control. Every day, you make new rules - all against your own earlier advice. It started when you did the sudden about-turn on wearing masks.

How can you face the public daily with the same flawed presentations, or even your own frontliners who are battling in the field?

Solo: The current thinking is, if you are asymptomatic after 10 days of a positive test, you are probably not infective. The PCR test after 10 days is picking up RNA remnants which are not infectious.

If government hospitals are maxed out, then pay private hospitals to take mild or asymptomatic cases.

Anonymous 79: Let the asymptomatic patients go back home? This is called cheating. If so, why need for others to go to quarantine places? If we let patients to quarantine at home, it will result in two problems:

1. Not everybody is rich enough to have individual rooms and bathrooms. So, this will be risking other house members. 2. Can the government guarantee these patients would not break the quarantine rules?

YellowCougar9709: If asymptomatic patients are to stay at home, then why is there no home quarantine for new overseas arrivals? This is simply illogical.

Oscar Kilo: Indeed, overseas returnees who tested negative still have to quarantine 10 days in hotels, but now positive cases are allowed to stay at home! Illogical.

It is not a good sign when the health authorities are gradually lowering their standards.

And it all started because some ‘traitors’ decided that it was not necessary to quarantine people returning from Sabah during the state election last September. 

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