THE COVID-19 pandemic has thrown the Klang Valley (including Negeri Sembilan) into a tailspin lately, with the outbreak in that particular part of the country making up more than half the number of infections daily.
But now, other states outside the Klang Valley, too, seem to be slipping into crisis.
Recent data from the Health Ministry (MOH), for instance, has demonstrated a steep increase in the intensive care (ICU) bed used by COVID-19 patients in Perak, Kedah and Penang in the past three to four weeks.
Senior consultant paediatrician Datuk Dr Amar Singh HSS said that the Delta variant is changing the whole situation as it is most likely to be the predominant strain spreading in the country.
“The Delta variant is highly infectious, has a very high viral load and infects more persons faster,” he said.
Furthermore, the fully vaccinated rate for many states outside the Klang Valley are lower due to limited vaccine supply.
According to data from July 25, 2021, people who have received two doses of vaccine in the states was 14.4% for Perak, 11.5% for Kedah, and 14.5% for Penang (percentage of the total population). With the Delta variant, two-dose protection is crucial.
To prevent a Klang-Valley-like disaster, Amar suggested that the country advocates for an increase in vaccine supply and ramp up vaccinations.
Leave no vials in storage and avoid using large vaccination centres (PPVs). Rather, drive-by vaccination should be used, as is the existing healthcare infrastructure such as maternal and child health clinics, school health teams, general practitioners and private hospitals.
The aim is to reduce the risk of mega PPVs being locations for COVID-19 transmission.
Amar recommends reducing all non-critical social interaction to cut community spread of the virus.
With this in mind, social, travel and religious activities must be avoided. He also urged against the use of vaccination passports at this time for travels anywhere.
Meanwhile, PCR testing should only be used for hospital admissions, while RTK-Ag testing should be expanded for all contacts, symptomatic or otherwise.
“Enable the public to self-test with the availability of reliable, cheap saliva-based RTK-Ag tests, which can be acquired from pharmacies, health centres and general practitioners (GP) clinics.
“The state government should consider investing to subsidise these tests. Anyone who is RTK-Ag test positive should be considered a case and be isolated and monitored,” Amar suggested.
He also recommends activating a state-level multi-sectoral disaster team not unlike the Greater Klang Valley Task Force (GKVTF).
“Get the plans in place, teams activated and resources on standby as quickly as possible so that when the Delta wave hits, we will be prepared. This includes increasing the number of hospital beds, oxygen delivery capacity and electrical power supply.”
State-level disaster management teams, too, must be empowered to act immediately and supported by state governments.
“Remember that the Federal Government has invested significant resources to support the Klang Valley, and may have limited funds for other states. Therefore, state governments must come together with business leaders to act for their respective states,” he said.
In addition, it is crucial to send a clear message that vaccination alone will not stem the Delta wave.
“We need public health measures as well – masks, ventilation and physical distancing. We need to encourage the public to be vigilant and maintain their standard operating procedures (SOPs) even after vaccination.”
Transparent data sharing with the public to comprehensively explain the true situation is important, Amar pointed out.
“We cannot say ‘everything is under control’ when we know it is not. Sharing of granular data, down to the district level, will encourage an all-of-society involvement to reduce the impact of the Delta wave. A concerned public is one that acts.” – July 27, 2021.
Photo credit: CNN
