Beware of Covid-19 surges over Chinese New Year

 

Many Malaysians seem to have forgotten that Covid-19 is still with us; either that or they have shunted knowledge of this to the back of their mind.

With the Chinese New Year days away and Hari Raya Puasa in April, there is need for caution.

Thousands will be travelling to their hometowns this weekend; this includes the non-Chinese who will take the holiday opportunity to balik kampung and visit their elders and relatives.

It means there will be much mingling, with people coming into close contact with each other. It will be wise to bear in mind that the Covid-19 virus and its variants are lurking around and take some precautions.

This is especially so when we are near older people, who are more susceptible to this disease.

I know health minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa said recently that the authorities did not expect a spike in Covid-19 cases during the upcoming Chinese New Year celebration. She also said the number of Covid-19 cases was on a downward trend, with fewer than 500 new cases reported daily.

I know health director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah was reported as saying that there had been no surge in cases during previous celebrations, such as the Hari Raya Puasa celebration last year.

But let’s keep in mind that Dr Zaliha also called on the public not to be complacent and to continue taking precautions. “Continue to follow the standard operating procedures, practise the 3Ws (wash, warn and wear masks), and avoid 3Cs (crowded places, confined spaces and close conversation),” she added.

Puasa is expected to begin on March 23 and every evening people will gather at pasar Ramadan to buy foodstuff to break the fast. Again, this is one place that brings people into close and direct contact with each other.

A month after that Muslims will celebrate Hari Raya Puasa, again a time of ‘balik kampung’; again a time of merriment, family gatherings and being in close contact with many people.

If we do not want the Covid-19 deaths or cases to jump, we should follow the hygiene habits mentioned by Dr Zaliha, especially during these periods.

Remember, the World Health Organization says the pandemic remains an acute global emergency and that although it appears to be in transition, the risk of the “emergence of new variants and future surges remains real”.

WHO notes that a new variant – the Omicron XBB.1.5 – appears to be more infectious than others, although it does not have any known mutations that cause more harm to people than the other variants.

“Along with BQ.1 variants, XBB variants are the most antibody-resistant variants to date,” according to WHO. “Based on its genetic characteristics and early growth rate estimates, XBB.1.5. may contribute to increases in case incidence.”

On Jan 15, WHO said Covid-19 was easing worldwide with a weekly 23% decrease in cases and 13% drop in deaths – except in China.

The total number of deaths worldwide due to Covid-19 stood at 6,727,098 on Jan 17. The total number of infections was listed at 667,681,245 by the Johns Hopkins coronavirus resource center.

This is a huge number. And more than 6 million have died due to Covid-19.

And let’s remember that we have entered the fourth year since the disease was reported on Jan 9, 2020, to WHO by the Chinese authorities that they had determined the outbreak in Wuhan was caused by a novel coronavirus.

According to the Johns Hopkins coronavirus resource center, there were 36,919 deaths up to Jan 17 in Malaysia. That’s a huge number. There were also 5,033,254 confirmed cases since the pandemic began.

What this means is that although there is no cause for panic or anxiety, we are not out of danger and we should not ignore warnings to take precautions.

I’m just concerned that in learning to “live with Covid-19”, some of us may be treating it as non-existent or that “it won’t affect me” or “it won’t affect me again as I have been inoculated”. I know of people who have had booster shots getting Covid-19.

I believe that even one death is one too many. - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and no not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.