The Malaysian Insight

IT is unwise to relax Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOP) before a significant proportion of the population is fully vaccinated, said health experts.

Latest vaccination data shows that 14.3% of the population or 4.67 million people have been fully vaccinated with two doses.

Medical experts, however, said 40%-50% of the population need to be vaccinated before the government decides to ease restrictions.

Universiti Malaya epidemiologist and public health physician Prof Dr Sanjay Rampal said the best time to relax restrictions will be at the end of next month, in conjunction with Merdeka Day.

“By then, the vaccinations would likely have reduced the susceptible population to less than 50%,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

He said in areas where the healthcare utilisation rate is high, it is best to impose a total lockdown for four to eight weeks instead of continuing with current restrictions.

Sanjay was commenting on Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s recent statement that the SOP may be relaxed to give flexibility to those who are fully vaccinated.

This could include allowing them to dine at restaurants and travel inter-district and interstate. An announcement on this is expected soon.

Sanjay pointed out the current restrictions have become ineffective.

“The continuous movement restrictions and SOP have fatigued our communities… at high psychological, social and economic costs,” he said.

“It may seem counter-intuitive, but relaxing movement and business restrictions may result in a more compliant society.

“The community is then empowered to follow the SOP on the wearing of masks in close congested spaces, physical distancing and hand hygiene.”

He said the government could relax the SOP for those who have been vaccinated under phase two of the national recovery plan, including the elderly and those with comorbidities.

He said taking the family structure in Malaysia into account, joint families should be allowed to dine together but the restaurant or meeting space must be large enough.

Universiti Putra Malaysia medical epidemiologist Associate Prof Dr Malina Osman said the government should defer the decision to ease the SOP at least until 40% of the population have been vaccinated.

She, however, said certain exceptions can be made and the SOP can be reviewed, including for economic sectors that already have at least 50% of their employees vaccinated.

Malina said the high number of infections could be partly due to people letting their guard down after vaccination and the healthcare system being overwhelmed with cases.

She said premature easing of SOP may result in infections to those who have not yet been vaccinated.

Certain mechanisms to ensure the presence of safety bubbles or to loosen the SOP stage by stage are highly recommended, she said.

Malaysian Public Health Physicians’ Association president Dr Zainal Ariffin Omar advised the government to follow the World Health Organization’s guidelines by colour coding areas based on the risk levels.

He said it is important for the government to ensure that high-risk groups, such as the elderly and people with chronic illnesses, and front-liners such as teachers are vaccinated.

“Yes, the priority is to vaccinate the elderly, people with chronic illnesses and important front-liners such as teachers. It is advisable for the government to map the locality/sub-district or the relaxation of the restrictions,” he said.

Zainal said inter-district and interstate travel may not be appropriate at this time as the daily Covid-19 cases are still high.

He said it would be wise to wait for two weeks to see if there is a decline in the number of infections. – July 21, 2021.