Don’t fear going back to work, Covid-19 survivors told

Passengers in an MRT train on the first day of work on May 4 after nearly two months of lockdown.

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has advised recovered Covid-19 patients against letting the fear of reinfection prevent them from going back to work or resuming other normal activities.

MMA president Dr N Ganabaskaran told FMT there was no call for paranoia although he took note of a World Health Organization (WHO) statement that it is possible for a survivor to get infected again.

“There is currently no evidence that people who have recovered from Covid-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection,” WHO recently said.

Ganabaskaran said the risk of reinfection was low and a recovered patient should be able to resume work unless advised to take a rest after being discharged.

However, he advised survivors going back to work to observe good hygiene, practise social distancing and wear masks.

He added that a healthy diet, physical exercise and good sleep were important in boosting the immune system.

He also said recovered patients should disclose their medical history to their employers.

“If they once again come into contact with a known Covid-19 case or a person under Investigation for the disease, they should be upfront with their employer and immediately go to a public healthcare facility to be tested.”

Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah recently said that there had been no case of reinfection.

He spoke of a few cases of discharged patients showing weak positives, but said retesting had found these were due to virus shedding. - FMT