THE implosion of Covid cases in China from its abrupt overturn of its zero-Covid policy remains a serious cause of concern for the world over that portrays blatant incompetence and irresponsibility, and Malaysia needs to step up and join the growing chorus of countries to impose either bans or mandatory tests on all incoming visitors. Looking at the grim situation now, an outright ban on a temporary basis is urgently needed until we have a clearer picture on potential new threats. 

The US and India have already made it mandatory for testing for all travellers from China, and other countries are joining in.

Italian health authorities will also  begin testing all arrivals from China for Covid after almost half of the passengers on two flights to Milan were found to have the virus.

The severity of the spread and the surge, with a glaring failure for China to have an effective exit policy after three years of the pandemic, provides a fertile breeding ground for a potentially dangerous Covid mutation.

As China scales back restrictions, the dominant BF.7 strain there could mean trouble for the world, despite assurances that adequate protective steps are taken.

The BF.7 sub-variant, which descended from the BA.5 strain, is extremely adept at evading immunity and various experts have expressed concerns that the devastatingly pervasive outbreak in China would create greater tendencies for mutations and a new variant that is both immunity evading and more lethal.

There are mounting concerns in the international community on the ongoing Covid surge in China and the lack of transparent data, including viral genomic sequence data, which point out the almost non-existent scientific grounds we can confidently refer to, to rule out any future risks. 

The official tallied number of cases and deaths remains almost a mockery of the grim realities on the ground, with a deadly scramble for basic medicines that have run out of stock, mortuaries full and hospitals running out of space for Covid patients, reminiscent of the initial period of the pandemic. Until and unless clear, credible and verified data and transparency are given by China to the World Health Organization and other countries in a responsible and trusted manner, we must step up our own measures, not just rely on booster intake.

Memories fade fast but it is crucial to be mindful of past facts and history. One of the most pressing and causal factors of the initial phase of the pandemic was China’s unwillingness to admit and share the truth and the data on the spread of the virus, and in trying to dismiss the severity of the virus and the ease of the spread. Chinese citizens were freely allowed to leave China at that time, but internal movements were curbed, which portrayed the flawed and disguised approaches by Beijing. 

Drawing lessons from the past, early measures taken will never backfire on the basis of taking necessary precautions in assessing the initial unknown risks and fears about potential new threats. The lessons from the past three years of the pandemic have taught us that saving lives and prioritising the most vulnerable groups remain the greatest priority, and that early preventive steps taken will never fail to bring eventual returns in the long run.

By merely justifying the economic arguments, they do not hold for now, as the China case spike remains the single largest outbreak in the history of the pandemic in almost all indicators of speed, scope, volume and reach. The risks of the relatively novel and unknown threat and lethality of potential new variants are too big for us to ignore, and we cannot say with full certainty from a scientific or medical point of view for now that any potential risks can be downgraded or bypassed. If it really comes to that, countries that have imposed extensive precautionary measures earlier are proven to be better prepared in terms of lowering the negative impact of new threats both in coping mechanisms and fatality counts.

The benefits and returns of early measures and the impact on controlling later surges and severity, if any, in Malaysia will far outweigh any negative implications on a short-term basis for certain economic sectors, especially tourism.

Time remains the ultimate essence. Without the courage to take early bold steps as those by others – for the sake of appeasing China – it signals yet another pandering to China at the expense of our larger independent interests and lives of the people.

It is time for our new leadership to be bold and principled enough to take the bull by the horns and to tell things as they are, and more importantly not repeat past mistakes. Our lives and livelihood depend on that. – December 30, 2022.

* Collins Chong Yew Keat 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.