Review election SOPs, says virologist as Johor ICUs fill up

 

A virologist says Johor should be on the alert for a surge in Covid-19 cases. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: A virologist has called for a review of SOPs for the coming Johor elections amid the rising intensive care unit (ICU) bed utilisation in the state.

It was reported that the ICU bed utilisation for Covid-19 patients in Johor had reached the 70% mark while its total ICU bed occupancy – both for Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 cases – was 75%.

Universiti Sains Malaysia virologist Amir Yunus said Johor should be on alert for a surge in Covid-19 cases.

With the elections looming, he said, the authorities needed to revise the SOPs for campaigning to prevent another wave of infections.

The Election Commission is allowing ceramahs and house visits for the Johor polls. However, attendance at each ceramah is limited to 100 people and can only be held at party headquarters or an operations centre.

Meanwhile, Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii voiced concerns over the increase in Covid-19 hospitalisations given the low level of compliance with SOPs.

“The problem is we’ve seen examples of SOP violations during campaigning in previous state elections,” he said, noting that the current wave of infections had yet to peak.

“Without proper enforcement, non-compliance will continue.”

He said this could lead to increased hospitalisation and ICU bed utilisations that would put a strain on already overworked health workers. - FMT