SEVERAL federal and state lawmakers have criticised health authorities for under-testing and the slow progress in reining in the Covid-19 pandemic in the areas under enhanced movement-control order (EMCO) in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur.

Their complaints are based on director-general of health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah’s remarks that as of July 9, only 10% of the population in these EMCO areas have been tested. 

They also urged the authorities to ramp up vaccinations in these red-zone areas, suggesting that the government can inject first and register later to allow more people to be inoculated. 

Klang MP Charles Santiago said active screening is the most important measure that the government has to take to curb the spread of the virus. He said positive cases should be isolated and treated. 

He also drew attention to the high number of infections and dead-on-arrival cases.

He said if the situation is not controlled, then hospitals may run out of oxygen supply as the number of severely ill cases are increasing. 

Mass screening and vaccinations in EMCO areas are the only way out of the acute situation and to prevent the healthcare system from collapsing, Santiago said.

“We have not seen any progress. The government should actively undertake these measures,” he said.

He said the decision to set up an army field hospital at the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital in Klang only reflects the severity of the situation and indicates that authorities have lost control of the situation.

He said the RM1.1 million allocation by the government to buy additional equipment at the hospital is laughable. 

“The number of patients is increasing, not just in Klang but also in other major hospitals in the Klang Valley. They (the government) have failed,” he said.

Santiago said the government should increase vaccinations in the Klang Valley by carrying them out first and registering later.

He said the current process of vaccination by appointments is not feasible and the authorities should instead allow walk-ins.

Meanwhile, Sungai Pelek state assemblyman Ronnie Liu said the government has failed despite the ongoing vaccination programme. 

He said Putrajaya has little choice but to impose a lockdown in the past due to the absence of vaccines.

However, now the government has failed to rein in the pandemic even with the availability of vaccines.

He said the first movement-control order imposed in March last year was the only measure done right. 

He said while the contact tracing measures undertaken by the government in the initial days of the pandemic were good, things have now got out of hand.

Self-diagnosis for Covid-19

Balakong state representative Wong Siew Ki said Putrajaya’s Covid-19 screenings in Selangor are too slow. 

“Vaccination is slow and so is testing,” she said.

“The government is slow in everything except politics.” 

Wong suggested that the government followed in Selangor’s footsteps in mass testing.

She said the government should also roll out self-diagnosis for Covid-19. 

“Selangor is willing to cooperate with them, but they are not open to it,” she said.

Wong said that 70% of the infections in the country can be brought under control if the situation in Selangor is reined in. 

Meanwhile, University Putra Malaysia Virologist Dr Chee Hui Yee said screening should be targeted as the World Health Organization does not recommend screening of asymptomatic people. 

She suggested the health authorities conduct large-scale screenings at companies, factories, construction sites and other workplaces that may potentially become a virus hotspot. 

She said most of the infections now are a result of workplace clusters. 

She said this is because other social activities are currently restricted under the MCO.

Therefore, she said, it is important to control the spread of infections at workplaces. 

She also reminded people to remain cautious after being vaccinated as they are not completely protected from the coronavirus.

She added that the lack of compliance to the MCO standard operating procedures is also another problem

Malaysia today reported more than 9,000 Covid-19 cases for the third straight day, at 9,105 new infections as of noon today. 

The Klang Valley accounted for the bulk of the cases at 5,929, or 65% of the caseload. 

Selangor reported the highest number of cases to date, at 4,682. On July 9, the state recorded 4,400 cases. This was followed by Kuala Lumpur with 1,247. 

Deputy Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob today said that the increase in the number of Covid-19 cases of late was due to large-scale screening, especially in areas under EMCO.

He said the government had projected Covid-19 cases to increase when the EMCO was enforced in 36 districts in Selangor and 16 areas in Kuala Lumpur.

The EMCO in these areas is scheduled to end on July 16. 

“When the government enforces the EMCO, we will conduct Covid-19 screening on a large scale and, of course, there will be an increase in Covid-19 cases,” Ismail said. – July 11, 2021.