THE second movement-control order (MCO), which takes effect today, is a result of the failure by the authorities to address pertinent issues on time and the lackadaisical attitude of the public in complying with the standard operating procedure, said medical experts.

This led to daily Covid-19 infections reaching four figures, which pushed the healthcare system to breaking point, forcing Putrajaya to come out with more stringent controls.

Epidemiologist Prof Dr Awang Bulgiba Awang Mahmud of Universiti Malaya said the authorities squandered the time bought with the first MCO, which was enforced from March until May last year.

“MCO 2.0 has been forced on us because the authorities squandered the time we bought with MCO 1.0 and did not address many issues that I had long ago raised.

“This included the issues of migrant workers, implementation of the amended Act 446 (Workers’ Minimum Standards of Housing and Amenities Act), syndromic surveillance, better data analysis, better indicators, scenario planning, revision of pandemic preparedness plan and so on.

“We are now paying the price of complacency by not listening to the experts and not being guided by the data. If we do not do something about these issues, then the time we are buying with MCO 2.0 will be squandered again,” Awang Bulgiba told The Malaysian Insight.

Authorities failed to detect cases early on because there are no early warning systems, such as a syndromic surveillance and the lack of effort towards utilising big data and technology to the fullest, he said.

He accused the authorities of disregarding advice from public health experts about data analysis, did not share data and did not bother to engage behavioural scientists and communication specialists.

“As a result, pandemic fatigue set in, messages continued to confuse people and apparent double standards made people question the point of following the SOP when VIPs got away with a lot of things,” said Awang Bulgiba, who is also the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry’s Covid-19 epidemiological analysis and strategies task force chairman.

The lack of direction and clear strategies is apparent after complacency set in when cases declined after the second wave. MCO 2.0 is forced on us as there is no other alternative, he said.

The two-week movement restriction will not be sufficient to see a sustained decline in cases as the current batch of infections are from a fortnight ago, he said.

Therefore, a six- to 12-week MCO will be ideal to see results.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said in a televised address on Monday that public healthcare facilities can no longer accommodate up to 2,000 new Covid-19 cases a day, adding that 70% of non-intensive care unit (ICU) beds at 15 Covid-19 hospitals are occupied.

More than 1,450 health workers are unable to serve as they were either infected by the coronavirus or have been placed under quarantine.

A total of 476 clusters were reported in the third wave alone, of which 259 were linked to workplaces. Comparatively only 110 clusters emerged in the second wave of infections, whereby 25 were linked to workplaces.

Epidemiologist and biostatistician Assoc Prof Dr Malina Osman of Universiti Putra Malaysia, meanwhile, said it is not accurate to point fingers at the government for failing to handle the situation.

“From a public health perspective, successfulness of any outbreak management depends on community participation, intersectoral collaboration, utilising available resources and the available policies.

“Therefore, blaming the government for the current situation may be not accurate.”

She said the measures implemented under the conditional MCO will be appropriate to strike a balance between the economic and health needs.

However, with the majority of the public failing to comply with the SOP, daily cases have gone up to four digits.

“The system reaches breaking point if facilities in hospitals are no longer able to accept patients for management (Covid-19 or non-Covid-19). We hope we won’t reach that stage,” Malina said.

Malaysian Public Health Physicians’ Association president Dr Zainal Ariffin Omar said while the government has not failed in handling the pandemic, it has to restrategise.

The public healthcare system may not be able to cope with mounting clusters and emerging cases but at the same time, the system is not flexible enough to get assistance from outside.

The MCO will be imposed in six states – Penang, Selangor, Federal Territories (Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan), Malacca, Johor and Sabah starting today while the CMCO will be in place in Pahang, Perak, Negri Sembilan, Kedah, Terengganu and Kelantan.

Perlis and Sarawak, which have the fewest active Covid-19 cases currently, will remain in the recovery MCO phase. – January 13, 2021.