COVID-19 | Bukit Gasing assemblyperson Rajiv Rishyakaran has called on the Health Ministry to redefine its definition of Covid-19 close contacts in line with that of the US Center for Disease Control (CDC) to better contain the virus.
He said the Health Ministry defined close contact as:
- Healthcare-associated exposure, including those providing direct care for Covid-19 patients, working with infected healthcare workers, visiting patients or staying in the same close environment of a patient
- Working together in close proximity or sharing the same classroom environment with a patient
- Travelling together with a patient in any kind of conveyance
- Living in the same household with a patient
According to Rajiv, the CDC defined close contact as “someone who was within six feet (1.8m) of an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period starting from two days before illness onset (or for asymptomatic patients, two days prior to testing specimen collection) until the time the patient is isolated.
"There is a big difference in the two definitions with the CDC covering a wider range of potentially exposed people. This is exactly what the Health Ministry needs to emulate and redefine in its criteria for close contact," he said in a statement today.
Rajiv cited as a case study, the example of positive cases that occurred around the 1 Utama Shopping Centre in early October.
"It started with a foreigner working as a security guard on Oct 10. As of Dec 2, there were 283 positive Covid-19 cases detected in this cluster, with a positivity rate of 23 percent - even spreading to Malacca.
"Most of those infected were locals and by targeting mass testing only to foreign workers, the Health Ministry is missing out on the bigger picture.
"We need to test more people and the only way to do that is to make testing more available, expand the definition and scope of the term close contact," he stressed.
Last week, Rajiv urged the Health Ministry to increase its mass testing after the Social Security Organisation (Socso) announced compulsory testing for foreign workers.
"As can be seen in this past week alone, the number of cases has exponentially risen with the increased testing of foreign workers," he said, adding that most were asymptomatic or with mild symptoms.
"If such testing was not made compulsory, these cases would have gone undetected and the spread would have continued."
The assemblyperson expressed concern that with the relaxation of the conditional movement control order (MCO) and interstate travel, more people are at risk of infection.
He added that the Health Ministry would have the necessary resources if it enlists all private healthcare personnel in the country, namely general practitioners and private clinics, to do testing.
"The ministry can use the antigen rapid test kits for this expanded definition of close contact, which is better than not testing them at all.
"With tests costing the government less than RM60 per person, we shouldn’t be turning away anyone who wants to get tested.
"If the Finance Ministry knew how to prioritise during a pandemic, it certainly would have the necessary budget to purchase enough test kits for the whole country," Rajiv said.
The Health Ministry yesterday reported 1,229 new Covid-19 cases, with the bulk coming from Selangor and Sabah.
Kuala Lumpur, Johor, and Perak also recorded more than 100 new cases.
The country has suffered 415 Covid-19 fatalities and out of 83,475 cases, there have been 69,383 recoveries while 13,667 patients are in active treatment. - Mkini
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