THE government is urged to employ science-based strategies to fight Covid-19 instead of wasting money on disinfection exercises that are ineffective.

The Academy of Medicine of Malaysia (AMM) in a statement today said Putrajaya should spend prudently in  a time of crisis on measures that will reduce the number of infections.

“The government must prioritise anti-Covid-19 interventions that will help reduce the number of cases, protect our hospitals and intensive care facilities during this two-week total lockdown, and allow our healthcare professional and front-liners a respite. 

“Moreover, ministers are expected to be prudent in their spending to achieve the best possible outcomes with minimal expenditures and diminishing fiscal reserves,” it said in a statement.

It added that it was “disturbing” to see the government resort to disinfection exercises again, when it was debunked by the United States Centre for Diseases Control (CDC) as ineffective.

The World Health Organisation advises against the spraying of chemicals in public areas such as sidewalks and roads due to adverse heat effects.

“We hope the Ministry of Health will update its ‘Garis Panduan Pembersihan dan Disinfeksi di Tempat Awam’ to reflect this,” the AMM said.

It urged the government to also update its guidelines as it is well established that Covid-19 is airborne.

“In this context of evolving scientific evidence vis-à-vis public health management of Covid-19, there should be a whole-of-government effort to produce ventilation guidelines for all indoor spaces.

“This has led to the creation of ventilation guidelines in many countries, including Singapore. 

“Many commercial and residential buildings in Malaysia may indeed require updating to meet new standards and we must seize this time of a total lockdown to make the necessary improvements so we can exit this pandemic once and for all,” it said.

AMM ’s statement backs Universiti Malaya professor of medicine Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman, who said large-scale sanitisation of roads and open spaces was “a waste of time and money”.

WHO science council member and former deputy director-general of health Dr Lokman Hakim Sulaiman, is also against the unscientific approach.

Adeeba said recent evidence showed that the risk of virus transmission through surfaces was much lower than initially believed and that it pointed to the virus’ transmission via airborne aerosols.

Malaysian Public Health Physicians’ Association president Dr Zainal Ariffin Omar said Adeeba and Lokman were right.

He said sanitation measures was not based on science while the chemicals that were utilised could have  an  adverse impact on health,

The WHO and the CDC said sanitisation should only be done in a targeted manner, indoors, and on high-touch surfaces such as staircase railings, furniture, toilets, sinks and counters.

Zainal said large-scale sanitisation should focus in highly infected locations but only in enclosed areas, while local residents should also be informed as the chemicals could affect those with asthma or dermatitis. 

“Studies have shown that sunlight outdoors is sufficient to destroy the Covid-19 virus after 20 minutes of exposure.”

The Housing and Local Government Ministry has announced plans for large-scale disinfection of 284 locations nationwide. It has sanitised more than 25,000 places since the outbreak last year. – June 3, 2021.