THE Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has joined a chorus of voices calling for the Government to delay the relaxing of restrictions for the fully vaccinated until the number of COVID-19 cases are significantly reduced.
Any decision to relax restrictions must be supported with sufficient scientific evidence, the association said in a statement.
“If it is indeed a decision based on science, why then is travel allowed for those wishing to see their spouse or their young children?
“Either it is sufficiently safe for the fully vaccinated to travel, in which case all vaccinated individuals should be allowed to do so, or it is not, in which case nobody should travel,” MMA president Professor Datuk Dr Subramaniam Muniandy said in a statement.
“Similarly, the states where the fully vaccinated are allowed these freedoms should be based on science.”
Some of those states in Phase 2 of the National Recovery Plan (NRP), he added, are showing an increasing trend in COVID-19 cases and by next week, these states may very well be back in Phase 1.
“The Government should stop its hyping up on the total number of cases. What is important are hospital bed utilisation and the ICU situation in the country,” he stressed.
“We will not get to zero on COVID-19 cases any time soon. However, with the increasing rate of vaccinations, serious cases may soon be seeing a downward trend by month’s end.”
Going forward, Dr Subramaniam has expressed his hopes that the Government will provide an update on the positivity rate and the status of bed utilisation and ICU in each state.
“These will be more meaningful indicators apart from the daily new cases. It is important that the public be kept informed of the bed capacity and ICU status in their respective states.
“We also hope there will be an update on the vaccination status of all those in the high risk category under Phase 2 of the National Immunisation Programme (NIP).
“Any lifting of restrictions must also take into account high risk groups such as nursing homes, factory and construction workers, security guards, cleaners, medical students and undocumented migrant workers that have not been vaccinated,” he concluded. – Aug 10, 2021.
