Malaysia will start treating Covid 19 as an endemic disease around the end of October said International Trade and Industry Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali. Malaysia Health Minister Datuk Khairy Jamaluddin said the people must begin to accept that Covid 19 was here to stay and that it was time to live with the virus in a different conference. He added the endemic phase would see more economic and social sectors reopened with new norms Covid 19 being practice.
Endemic Meaning
Endemic is the normal circulation of virus in a specified location over time, where the disease constantly exists in population or area in stable and low quantity. When Covid 19 becomes an endemic virus, it will be relatively constant in population with a largely predictable pattern just like Ebola and dengue, summaries experts.
Do we give up to eradicate Covid 19?
No. People around the world are beginning to accept that Covid 19 is not going away (at least not so soon) and to eradicate the virus seems unrealistic for now that people need to move forward with life. Failure to eliminate Covid 19 will not mean death, illness and social isolation worsen in the future when we can manage the threats with enough people gaining immune protection.
Reopening economic, tourism and education sectors
Malaysia is ready to open more sectors but needs to be cautious so we can avoid another wave happen. Khairy Jamaluddin also said Malaysia would introduce a national testing strategy in which the public would undergo Covid 19 tests regularly.
The Health Minister added, in some other countries had to make mask-wearing compelled again, following the emergence of more contagious variants so Health Ministry will retain the mask mandate. Regular self-tests with antigen tests are crucial to keep infection under control. The test kit is now available at an affordable price as said by Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi.
Mask wearing, physical distancing, hygiene and sanitation are the new norms we practiced. The updated standard operating procedure has been announced and needs to be oblige. A vaccine is an effective protection against Covid 19 that builds immunization for oneself and herd community. It’s up to an individual to choose a vaccine. As said by Health Minister, with vaccinations, efforts to make behavioral changes and continuous practice of SOP, we can begin to enter a new phase of living together with Covid 19.
The new norm in the economic sector will see a lot of adaption in technologies and new ideas implemented. It is convenient to use vaccination certificates in daily affairs in a lot of business transactions. Vaccine digital certificates are becoming essential documents, especially in tourism as part of preventive and precaution measures while traveling. The tourism sector can be revitalized with domestic healthcare tourism as Malaysia once emerged. In education, the school can reopen and Malaysia Education Minister Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin said a structure of new stricter SOP can ensure student’s safety.
Adding to that, Prof Zamberi Malaysian Society of Infectious Disease and Chemotherapy president said, the SOP is reasonable in lowering the risk of infection but having said that, schools must be vigilant in carrying them out strictly. Parents now have a choice to send their children to school or to remain with home base teaching and learning PdPR method.
