MALAYSIA is currently experiencing a second wave of Covid-19 infections, Deputy Health Minister Noor Azmi Ghazali said today.

“What we have been undergoing since March until today is actually the second wave,” he said in an interview with The Malaysian Insight.

He was asked to explain if the surge in cases was the dreaded second wave experts have warned about.

Noor Azmi said Malaysia experienced a brief first wave at the end of January with the first batch of patients who had come from China, the epicentre of the outbreak. 

He said the second wave started in March, the same month the government imposed the movement control order.

The restrictions were successful in curbing the spread of the virus so that the government could “flatten the curve”, he said.

Following a period of dwindling infections, the coronavirus has in recent weeks made a resurgence in a few locations.

The government, the deputy minister said, was concerned about the laxness of the people in complying with the prescribed health and safety guidelines.

For example, Noor Azmi said that there were many people who did not provide their real names and contact numbers as required when going into a mall.

Meanwhile, director-general of health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah in a press conference today predicted a third wave should the people persist in ignoring the guidelines.

He likened the newly identified clusters to “burning embers” and the people who disregard the rules to the fuel that feeds the fire.

He stressed that prevention efforts were important now to avoid a bigger outbreak. 

A hundred and twenty new cases were reported from July 19-25. 

“If we get 2,000-3,000 cases a day, our hospitals will be crowded within a week. We might not have the capacity to treat everyone,” Noor Hisham said.

He said transmission could be reduced by 60% if everyone would wear a mask in public and practise social distancing. 

Noor Hisham warned that people could once again be ordered to stay home if compliance with guidelines remained poor. – July 27, 2020.