Have proportionate response to curb Covid-19


MALAYSIA reported 6,320 new cases on May 23 and has hovered above 6,000 in the past week. On his Facebook page, director-general of health Noor Hisham Abdullah announced Covid-19 intensive care unit bed use countrywide reached 91%, while Klang Valley reached 113%. 

I suspect the director-general referred to ICU beds as a proxy indicator of the worsening crisis.  Due to differences in testing capability among states, ICU beds make a good predictor of the worsening conditions. I think he is on to something. 

The response to these numbers led to the “tightened” standard operating procedure, but do these reflect a proportionate response to the dire situation? Is it adequate? Is it enough? 

What data do we have about Covid-19 in the country and what intelligence might we glean from them? The current tightened SOP implies government servants as a major contributor, such that 80% working from home would mitigate the spread. It implies that if shops are opened till 8pm might doubly curtail the spread.  

Data should identify sectors or industries most at risk. Are mitigation steps sufficient to curtail the spread in this industry? Is it an issue of enforcement, improved SOP or loopholes in declaring staff as “technical”, and therefore required to show up for work? 

The Covid-19 data ought to define the profile of an at-risk person, by age, occupation, locality, habits or seasonal traits (holidays). Data should differentiate categories of at-risk persons and industries to help us develop mitigation and support strategies in planning forward. We have several major seasonal holidays from Chinese New Year through two Hari Raya’s to adequately contain the further spread and yet recent data show how infection rates have ballooned. 

We are not all the same (homogenous), identifying categories of risk profiles is a step in the right direction. It avoids imposing a full lockdown and unnecessary suffering. More than a year into Covid-19, our data should be mature to make these considerations. By identifying risk categories allow targeted and effective use of resources (vaccines, SOP, enforcement, finance, timeliness and effort). 

Proportionality in military doctrine requires an understanding of the necessity of actions (SOP), distinguishing national objective versus profitability of a private business. Instead, use Penjana subsidies for these industries to force a shutdown for the national good and nurture businesses through a robust financial support strategy. We might not have enough funds to support a full lockdown, but being selective of high-risk industries makes better use of limited funds. 

Who are our front-liners? What support systems do they need in a prolonged pandemic to be effective? Presumably, front-liners will need safety and protective gear. They will require infrastructure to support them, such as family and childcare support, therefore support industries are justifiably important to enabling frontline efforts. How are downline industries supported? There is now a petition for licensed nurseries and childcare operators to be vaccinated so that they in turn contribute to the national agenda. The chain of support for front-liners needs to be identified. I cringe every time I see a photo of a Foodpanda rider taking his child to work. The child is not high-risk, but taking them shopping is unnecessarily mindless. Parents and teachers whose risk behaviour is high, need to be educated and develop community care to avoid bringing the virus home. It is the community working as a whole, not just the business operator or Noor Hisham for all of us to succeed. We need to look out for each other. Resident associations can play their part by informing safety guidelines and avoid fear-mongering which constantly fills our WhatsApp pages. 

Science tells us outdoors is 18 times safer than the indoors. We need to look ahead to building habits to increase our immunities, yet the messaging is poor.  Instead, we utilise resources scouring the parks when other at-risk habits are flouted. 

Proportionality in laymen’s terms often refers to just enough effort, it is a containment strategy, not a decisive effort to reverse the spiral of increasing Covid-19 exposures. Keeping everything at a status quo while ICU beds are at 91% is not enough. We need to take on the military definition of a proportionate response when it is tactically sound to use a hammer to swat a fly to accomplish the mission. It needs a multi-tiered strategy to succeed, one of breaking the spread, the second, an aggressive vaccination schedule, and thirdly a judicious financial support programme for affected industries.  

A prolonged MCO with limited improvement in results drains public trust. It creates prolonged fatigue for national and private businesses to succeed. – May 25, 2021.

* Lt (Rtd) Chin Peng Hon reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.


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