KUCHING: An academic’s suggestion that the government reinstate physical distancing to avert the spread of new Covid-19 variants has drawn mixed reactions from health experts.
The idea was floated by Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia’s Faculty of Syariah and Law associate professor Dr Muzaffar Syah Mallow.
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences expert Dr Siti Fairouz Ibrahim concurred with Dr Muzaffar, saying it will be beneficial if some form of self-protection measures are observed by each and every one.
“Yes, it would be good if we can carry out some form of self-protection measures such as wearing a mask, social distancing, avoiding enclosed, crowded space, etcetera because of the new variants and the incoming surge of tourists,” she said.
As to whether she thinks another booster injection is made necessary, she said instead of being a must, it should only be recommended at the moment.
“My opinion is that it should be a recommendation since there are still a lot of unknowns about the new variants.
“However, I do want to remind those who have comorbidities that they should consult their doctors,” she explained.
Meanwhile, Universiti Malaya epidemiology and public health professor Dr Sanjay Rampal disagreed with Dr Muzaffar, arguing that standard operating procedures (SOPs) need not be intensified.
“Specifically on physical distancing, it is very difficult to properly implement the intervention as it involves decreasing the population density of an area. This involves changing the built environment.
“This all costs a lot of money and it’s likely not cost effective now,” he told New Sarawak Tribune.
He added that based on the situation analysis of Covid-19 in Malaysia on Jan 6, there is a lot of anxiety on how the trends of infections in certain countries may affect Malaysia.
“However, the reported daily new infections of Covid-19 in Malaysia has been on a decreasing trend over the past two months.
“For comparison, the current levels are approximately 60 times lower than the last big Omicron wave that occurred in February and March of 2022.
“It is important to highlight that our health system was able to manage that large wave without any surge capacity,” he reminded.
He explained that based on the continuous evolution of the virus, newer strains can be expected to circulate in Malaysia that will increase the number of new infections in the coming months but it will be much smaller than the Omicron wave of last year.
“A genome-based analysis concluded that the current genetic evolution differs from the early part of this pandemic and more likely to produce epidemiologically less harmful lineages.
“Even though a possibility cannot be ruled out, it is unlikely that future new strains will drastically increase the risk of severe disease,” he stated.
He added that post pandemic stress along with mistrust on the actual situation in China has likely exaggerated the public’s anxiety and may have led to calls for radical changes to SOPs.
“Based on prevailing information, there is no need for any change in our current SOP based on current knowledge that the risk of severe disease has not changed for circulating variants.
“We need to continue monitoring the situation and dynamically calibrate our responses, using evidence- and value-based decision-making.
“Our preparedness for routine waves of infections has improved over these past two years but the Malaysian health system should reform to better prepare for larger future health threats,” he said.
As to whether we should be afraid of the new variants, especially the XBB 1.5 variants, he said that we will continue to get newer variants as part of its evolution and the occurrence of new variants should be expected.
“Covid-19 has increased in the past month in few countries and is likely driven by the transmission of the XBB variant.
“Though the XBB variants increase the risk of infection, however, there is no evidence of any increase in the risk of severe disease or mortality due to Covid-19,” he added.
