YOURSAY | ‘So, wear your mask, two layers plus face shield if possible…’

KJ: Covid will be treated as endemic, 'clear' SOPs introduced soon

Sabri: The Delta strain is not going to go away. It is here to stay. The vaccines are not 100 percent full proof to protect you from the virus.

So finally, the world has come to accept the facts. We have to live with it.

To the government, please open up the economy and state boundaries as soon as possible. The roadblocks are not working. Instead, they have become a burden to the economy of the many states that rely on local tourists to survive.

Make the wearing of masks and shields mandatory. Until we find a sure cure for Covid-19, let the people know the effective ways to improve one's immune system. This way, most people who end up getting Covid may not burden the health facilities.

OCT: This has confirmed that whatever plans that Perikatan Nasional government had implemented were all failures. None worked.

The four phases of the National Recovery Plan (NRP) were the latest. The plan has criteria that the government cannot meet. Whoever thought of it was as stupid as one can get.

Now the government has indirectly accepted their failures. It is now asking the rakyat to live with the pandemic as they had run out of ideas on how to fight the pandemic. The government will not help. It has become rakyat’s problem now.

All the daily infection cases of over 20,000 and death cases of over 300 are becoming a norm. This is the result of a callous government. It is devoid of empathy. Its main interest and focus are to remain in power.

The failure to control the pandemic at the onset was a grave mistake by the PN government as its ministers are inept to handle the pandemic. The failure of a few ministers has caused the suffering of millions of rakyat and businesses.

Beman: As far as the number of new daily cases is concerned, the situation now is actually worse than last year. What's more, there are new variants of the virus. The only difference that is possibly positive is the vaccination.

However, for this to work, I believe they should have at least 70 percent, or better over 80 percent, of the population vaccinated and bring down the number of new daily cases and deaths first before moving on to the so-called ‘endemic’ stage.

Even with a large percentage of the population vaccinated, the number is going to go up initially once regulations are relaxed. Let's not forget that behind the number are real people.

Anonymous_47029368: 'Endemic' is just to acknowledge the scientific fact that even those fully vaccinated can be infected and infect others. However, with vaccinations, even if infected, most of these vaccinated people would only have asymptotic or mild cases that do not require hospitalisation.

So even if the new infection figures continue to go up but majority of these are vaccinated people, it would not pressure our healthcare system. Thus, it’s very important that the government continue its course of ramping up vaccinations.

YellowToucan7938: UK is a good benchmark for this. I’m an example of double Pfizer dose and still caught Covid - rest assured, it’s common, and in the UK, it’s becoming normal for a fully vaccinated person to catch Covid.

I’m in my mid-30s, was sick with a 39.5-degree Celsius fever for almost two weeks and that was considered mild.

The fully vaccinated death rate stands at 64 percent of total death in the UK from February to July. Basically, if you are meant to die from Covid, even double dose can’t save you. However, the majority of people who are vaccinated will have only mild symptoms after double dose.

Israel is also a good example. It has a high percentage of vaccinated adult population but Covid is making a comeback with the majority of people in hospital already fully vaccinated.

East Highlander: By the way, get the percentage right in the calculation of vaccination rates. Don't conveniently use population number as opposed to the number of residents.

The number of residents includes the migrant workers, which number at least four million (documented and undocumented).

So when the official number for Aug 31 is 15 million or 46%, it is based on 32.6 million population. If adjusted to include migrant workers, it will be 41%. So, we are overstating our national vaccination rate by 5 percent.

AnginLintang: Many scientists believe that with Delta variant and vaccines available, it is not possible to achieve herd immunity.

Infection numbers will still be high with breakthrough cases and booster shots may not last anything close to a year while on the other hand, the virus will continue to mutate, rendering current vaccines less and less effective. It is too early to believe that any country can achieve herd immunity.

Fair&Unbiased: I am very happy to hear that most sectors will reopen soon. However, we have to be vigilant and realistic as to whether our healthcare system is able to cope with those infected with the disease and needs hospitalisation.

Mass vaccination at super-speed will help as those vaccinated have a much better chance of escaping the fatal symptoms of Covid. Please realise the vaccine is not the be-all and end-all.

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has got it right. We need to reopen the industries and at the same time, we need to have everyone cooperate to practise good SOPs (standard operating procedures) to minimise the spread of the disease.

It’s a monumental task ahead for sure, but any more delay in the reopening up of our country will result in total devastation of the economy.

GreenWalrus9050: Yes, we can't hide from the pandemic forever. We just have to accept it and continue with our life and support the economy.

It's already bad to have to deal with the pandemic, imagine if we have both pandemic and a societal collapse, which will be much worse.

So complete both doses of vaccines, wear your mask (two layers plus face shield preferred), go dine-in, support the SMEs (small businesses), live your lives and follow SOPs.

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