SHOPPING malls and LRT stations are among more than a hundred Covid-19 hotspots identified under the Health Ministry’s new Hotspot Identification for Dynamic Engagement (HIDE) system which aims to prevent virus clusters from forming.

According to HIDE data dated May 8, the Bangsar Shopping Centre, Bangsar Village 2, Pavillion and MidValley in Kuala Lumpur were among the group of malls on the list.

LRT stations such as Masjid Jamek and KLCC are also on the list.

HIDE, launched earlier this week, is a big data and artificial intelligence system used to identify potential virus hotspots ahead of time and allow for more targeted interventions in managing the pandemic.

Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said in an accompanying statement that the list of hotspots was meant to help members of the public plan their journey and decide whether they should go to a particular place to avoid the risk of Covid-19 infection. 

The list also serves as a guide to premise operators to take proactive measures to prevent and protect their outlets from becoming a virus hotbed.

The Health Ministry’s Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre (CPRC) determines the potential virus hotspots based on a seven-day surveillance.

“The list of locations and premises are very important and fitting given that the daily Covid-19 positive cases were at a worrying level,” Khairy said.

“In the last seven days, a total of 23,712 new Covid-19 positive cases were recorded whereas ICU admissions were up by 21% compared to the previous week,” he added.

As such, the list will allow premise owners and the relevant authorities to undertake pre-emptive measures to prevent the formation of Covid-19 clusters.

Among the early intervention measures include notifying casual contacts via MySejahtera, controlling movements, restricting high risk people from entering the outlet based on their MySejahtera status, forming workplace bubbles and work from home arrangements, and conducting tests on employees from time to time.

“The public is adviced to postpone any trips to the listed premisses. If there is a necessity to go to the said location or premises, then all guidelines in line with the new normal must be adhered,” Khairy said.

However, Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii has raised questions on the methodology used to determine the hotspots, warning of unnecessary stigma against and fear over the places listed. 

“Am curious what are the methodology and parameters used? It is said to predict potential hotspots, but are the parameters mainly based on past positive cases that ‘check-in’ in this area, or others? If it’s not clear, it probably causes more stigma, (and) affect business (rather) than being proactive,” he said in a Twitter thread.

“What I find curious is they are listing ‘Shopping Malls’ all around the country, when based on data, most clusters are due to clusters at workplace. 

“So will this HIDE predict such workplace/industrial areas, activating more active case detection (screening) in those areas,” Yii asked.

He also noted how listing a shopping mall can be unhelpful for people to decide if they should test themselves for Covid-19 if they only went to one part of the mall while virus cases were detected in another part.

Yii called for a clear explanation on the science and methodology behind the HIDE system so as to promote proactive steps without inducing unintended consequences. – May 8, 2021.