THE peak of the Covid-19 Omicron wave may have passed, and this will be clearer in the next two weeks following the Johor elections that was held on Saturday, an infectious disease expert said. 

Dr Lim Chee Han said new cases reported in the next two weeks will show whether the spread of the virus is on a downward trend. 

Lim added that the current Covid-19 situation is different from when Sabah held its elections in September 2020, after which political activities in the run-up to the polls were blamed for causing a new wave of infections.

Lim said at the time of the Sabah polls, Covid-19 was still a “new” virus to authorities; vaccination was not yet available, and campaigning activities had fuelled the spread. 

For the recent Johor polls, he said the timing appears to have been after the worst of the pandemic, which, according to him, was mid-February, well before nomination day and the start of campaigning on February 26.

In early February, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said Malaysia was at that point “fully” experiencing the Omicron wave.

Former deputy health minister Dr Lee Boon Chye agreed with Lim’s assessment that Omicron’s peak has passed.

“Omicron had been in the country since mid-January and the peak had passed.” 

Lee said current protocols, including self-testing, are quicker now in getting people to self-isolate. Hence, the chances of positive cases becoming spreaders and causing another wave is much more reduced.

When the Johor assembly was dissolved in January to pave the way for state elections, there was much concern that the polls would lead to a new wave of Covid-19 infection, as Sabah’s elections did in 2020. 

In the Johor elections, 10 candidates tested positive before polling day. Health authorities issued a flurry of summons for violations to the Covid-19 standard operating procedure (SOP). 

As of March 3, the Johor Health Department had issued a total of 21 summons related to violations of campaigning SOP. 

But the Health Ministry’s data on daily new infections reported seem to support claims that Omicron’s peak may have passed.

Cases in Johor peaked about a month ago on February 12, with 3,238 new infections that day. 

Since March 5, numbers have been trending downward, staying below 3,000 daily but fluctuating to under or over 2,000. The highest daily infections for the state since February 12 was 2,986 on March 9. 

Lim said with the country moving towards endemicity and most economic activities resuming operations, elections cannot be solely blamed for any new infections. 

As long as movement is allowed for people to carry on with business activities and daily life, there will be cases. 

“You can’t pin it all on the elections.” 

Dr Moy Foong Ming from Universiti Malaya’s Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, also believes the Johor elections should not be blamed. 

“There were not as many large crowds during this campaign. If there were crowds, they were a lot smaller than past elections.” 

She added that the country’s high vaccination rate had also negated the threat of serious Covid-19 infection for a majority of people.

“Even if there is a rise in cases, most of them are mild and would not put any heavy pressure on the country’s healthcare system. 

There were 22,030 new infections reported nationwide on Monday, the lowest since February 15. Of the total, Johor accounted for 2,419 cases. – March 18, 2022.