KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Ministry must rethink and re-strategise its Covid-19 gameplan, including instituting subsequent action plans, says a medical expert.
This, as Malaysians anxiously wait for the government's revised Covid-19 containment measures nationwide, which is expected to be announced tomorrow.
Datuk Dr Musa Mohd Nordin believes that a Movement Control Order (MCO) is not the answer, adding that the only reason to resort to it is to buy time to protect the healthcare system.
The former Federation of Islamic Medical Associations president said an MCO should be the government's last resort, and only enforced to flatten the pandemic curve, allowing a breather to overstretched and exhausted healthcare workers.
"I will only agree to the MCO as a short circuit to rapidly dampen the spiraling number of Covid-19 cases so as to prevent healthcare services from being overwhelmed.
"From Health Ministry data available on public domain, it suggests to me that our health facilities are not at its breaking point.
"Ventilator utilisation is only 3.4 per cent, intensive care beds at 14 per cent, and general bed utilisation now breaching 100 per cent."
He told the New Straits Times that general bed utilisation could be easily remedied by de-congesting healthcare facilities of Stage 1 and Stage 2 Covid-19 cases through efficient bed management.
Dr Musa highlighted that Covid-19 patients in Stages 1 and 2 were asymptomatic and mild cases, and made up the bulk of the cases (80 per cent) which could be isolated at home.
"Only recently has the ministry begun considering this option. (The ministry) can also decant all their non-Covid-19 cases to the nearby non-Covid-19 government and private hospitals.
"This will allow Covid-19 hospitals to focus on the care of the sickest patients, Stages 3 to 5, and ensure the best outcome.
"This will also relieve healthcare providers, allowing them much required rest and also reduce the risk of being infected by the large volumes of Covid-19 patients presently in hospitals."
He said in one major Covid-19 hospital in the Klang Valley, Stage 1 and Stage 2 cases occupied up to 45 per cent and 25 per cent respectively of the hospital beds.
These, he added, could be immediately cleared for patients in Stages 3 to 5.
He also suggested that the Health Ministry shift from Reverse Transcriptase-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) testing to RTK-Antigen (RTK-Ag) testing for surveillance purposes, thus improving the efficacy of work flow.
"Testing is a central pillar of clinical and public health response to the Covid-19 emergency.
"All testing modalities have a specific role, but the one-size-fits-all approach by the Health Ministry by mandating RT-PCR is a failure."
Dr Musa said with RTK-Ag, a patient is tested on day one and informed of results on the same day. He said a case is then called up and isolated by day two, after which authorities can start contact tracing.
He said in comparison, a patient is tested using RT-PCR on day one, informed of results on day three, called on day five, and only isolated or picked up for admission on day seven or eight.
He also suggested that triaged mass screening at hotspots would be more proactive, and would pick up asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic cases.
There was a need, Dr Musa added, to ensure strict adherence to standard operating procedures through public empowerment.
He said the government needed to digitalise risk communication, and strategically convey them.
"Leaders need to lead by example. I am afraid this is terribly lacking.
"If anything, they are setting bad examples by not masking, not physically distancing, holding political meetings and gatherings.
"Authorities need to move away from the punitive approach, and consider a win-win partnership through buy-ins from industries or citizens," he said. - NST
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