Covid-19: Expert says a 'waste' to spray roads with disinfectant

CORONAVIRUS | Several medical experts have dismissed the effectiveness of disinfecting road surfaces and pathways from contamination by the coronavirus, arguing that its a waste of resources that could be used on other pressing matters.

Taking to Twitter, Selangor Covid-19 taskforce member Dr Christopher Lee said the process carried out earlier today in Petaling Jaya will not achieve its intended impact of lowering infection rates.

"Disinfecting roads is clearly not going to be impactful. Waste of resources and man hours.

"Cleaning common touch surfaces would be more impactful. Let's be evidence-based," said the former Health Ministry deputy director-general.

He was responding to a News Straits Times report that quoted several health experts who raised similar concerns over the effectiveness of a public disinfection operation by the Housing and Local Council Ministry and its minister Zuraida Kamaruddin at the Jalan Othman wet market this morning.

NST quoted former deputy Health director-general Dr Lokman Hakim Sulaiman who questioned the process that involved spraying disinfectant solution directly on to the road surface.

“What are they (the personnel) doing? Who is advising them? (It is) truly a waste of money. How are the roads and road curbs being contaminated? By infected people coughing onto them en masse?

“Even if road surfaces are contaminated, how could they get to your face? By people scrubbing their hands on the contaminated road surfaces and touching their faces?," Lokman was quoted as saying.

"On what basis or evidence are they doing that (disinfecting roads)? Yes, they might say that they are following the standard operating procedure (SOP), but who prepared the SOP and who endorsed it?

"And look at the crowd (observing the operations). This publicity blitz is already putting many people at risk," he was further quoted as saying.

Rather than spraying road surfaces, Lokman explained that authorities should instead disinfect frequent touch-points, such as doorknobs, lift buttons, and escalator railings to curb the spread of Covid-19.

Similarly, the NST quoted local virologist Lam Sai Kit as saying that roads are unlikely to be contaminated or a source of infection.

Rather than disinfecting roads, he said the process should be more targeted to areas where hands are likely to come into contact with the virus.

“(Spraying roads) may even be a waste. Personnel should be trained to disinfect places where (droplets containing the virus) are likely to fall and be the source of infection. Not roads.

“From the photo (where personnel were spraying roads), it appeared that they are washing the road," Lam was quoted as saying.

As of noon today, Malaysia recorded 2,626 Covid-19 cases and 37 deaths. - Mkini