THE reopening of various economic sectors in the country over the past few months has seen more Covid-19 infections among young Malaysians between the ages of 20 and 39, data from the Ministry of Health showed.

From January 1 to April 6, 2021, 20 to 29-year-olds accounted for 68,500 cases (28.5%), while there were 70,222 cases involving those age 30 to 39 (30%).

As of April 6, Malaysia recorded 240,319 cases and young people accounted for 58.5% of the total or 14,728 cases.

Former deputy health minister Dr Lee Boon Chye said there were two main factors contributing to the increase in the number of Covid-19 infections among young Malaysians: workplace infections and the elderly taking better precautions to protect themselves.

“During this period, the workplace clusters have increased, including infections among foreign workers, but they still have to work and have contact with people.

“Secondly, after the outbreak of the pandemic, the elderly have always been reminded that they are in the high risk groups, so they have adopted better preventive measures to protect themselves,” he said.

Lim Chee Han, an expert in infection biology, told The Malaysian Insight that most of the younger patients contracted Covid-19 from the workplace.

“Those below the age of 20 may not be working, while those above 50 are not working and go out less, so the risk of infection is naturally low.”

Data from the Galen Centre for Health & Social Policy’s CodeBlue health portal showed that elderly people accounted for 25.2% of the cumulative cases during the second wave of infections.

This time around, those above the age of 50 accounted for 14.2%, showing signs of decline.

“Those who are no longer working from home may accidentally bring the virus home with them, which could lead to more infections,” said Lim.

He said that with the opening of various sectors, including schools, the Covid-19 numbers nationwide have remained stagnant and not dropped significantly.

“I am worried that we will see more people of all ages, especially those in the 20s, getting infected.”

Speed up vaccination programme

Lee added that this problem is not only confined to Malaysia but also in other countries.

“Countries such as the United States and Israel have begun to vaccinate the elderly, so the virus is gradually spreading among the younger crowd.”

Lee said the Ministry of Health must regularly screen high risk industries before the vaccination programme is completed.

“Based on risk assessment, the ministry must conduct monthly tests at high risk workplaces. For example, among 1,000 employees, 1% to 2% should be screened to find out if there are infected groups as soon as possible.

“Otherwise, it may lead to serious consequences. The figure will be more than 50%, so regular screening is very important.”

Lee said that although there were frequent outbreaks in construction sites and factories, he believed that if the workplaces adhered to standard operating procedures, the infection rate would not be high.

“The main point of the outbreak is in the dormitories, because they can’t wear masks or keep their distance while living together. This is where regular screening is important.”

He added that the ministry must also ensure that contact tracing is carried out to detect and isolate close contacts within 48 hours to prevent the virus from spreading.

Although young people are low risk, they still have the potential of contracting the virus. If the number of patients increase, it will also cause a burden on the medical system, he said.

Lee said Malaysia must speed up its vaccination programme to avoid high mortality rates. Preliminary studies have also shown that vaccination can reduce the infection rate, and the virus will not spread so easily.

Meanwhile, Lim said the government must import more vaccines quickly and in that waiting period the people must adhere to the SOP.

From January to April this year, in addition to the increase in the number of young patients, 32,747 people under the age of 20 contracted Covid-19.

According to data from the ministry, 14,879 were children between the ages of several months and nine years, and 17,868 were between the ages of 10 and 19. – April 14, 2021.