Health Ministry braces for China's re-opening and Covid-19 surge

Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa has extended the declaration of "infected local areas" by another six months to June 30 next year.

The declaration, which allows for the exercise of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988, was originally supposed to expire tomorrow.

The gazette for the declaration was published on Dec 27.

This is the fifth time the declaration has been extended since 2021 and it comes amidst global concerns over China's abrupt cessation of Covid-19 protocols.

In a statement, Zaliha said the Health Ministry will adopt new measures in response to the developments in China and the possibility of new emerging Covid-19 variants.

All visitors from China will be screened for fever. Those who are found to have a fever or other symptoms will be referred for further testing.

She said all patients suffering from an influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) who visited China within 14 days or have been in close contact with someone who visited China in the same period will be subjected to RTK-Ag Covid-19 tests.

If the patient was Covid-19 positive, then genome sequencing will be conducted.

Between Dec 17 and Dec 24, the more prevalent variant of Covid-19 in Malaysia was Omicron (66.27 percent) followed by Delta (32.69 percent), said Zaliha.

She said wastewater aboard planes from China will be sampled for Covid-19 as well.

Walk-in vaccination

Zaliha said the government will also be stepping up vaccination efforts by offering vaccine boosters.

She said those in the at-risk group will be able to receive the vaccine on a walk-in basis beginning Jan 9 next year at government clinics and hospitals.

Others will require an appointment through the MySejahtera application or by contacting local public clinics.

Zaliha added that the anti-viral drug Paxlovid would be available in all public hospitals to treat Covid-19 patients. - Mkini