KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has urged the Health Ministry to urgently improve the management of mild Covid-19 cases and revert to its policy of testing all close contacts.
MMA president Professor Datuk Dr Subramaniam Muniandy said this was needed to eliminate confusion and prevent violations of home quarantine standard operating procedures (SOP).
"In terms of preventive measures, only isolating them (Covid-19 patients) will not be sufficient.
"The health status of all close contacts should be established early or there can be a risk of infections spreading among family members in the household and in the community if they breach the quarantine.
"Screening close contacts will also improve management of early symptoms of Covid-19," he said yesterday.
MMA, he said, had earlier proposed that the government consider roping in private general practitioners to test close contacts if it faced a manpower shortage.
Dr Subramaniam said more awareness and clarity were also needed on the SOP for home quarantine, adding that many were unclear about it.
"Efforts must be increased to educate the public on the home quarantine SOP and the Health Ministry's Covid-19 Assessment Centres (CAC) by frequently publishing information on available media, including outdoor media, especially in areas with a high population, in simple Malay, English, Mandarin and Tamil to ensure it is understood by all Malaysians.
"Cases are at an all-time high now. Therefore, the government cannot afford to take these issues lightly."
He said it must also be assumed that not every citizen followed the daily news updates, and a more strategic approach and appropriate selection of media to communicate these messages were needed.
He said the Communications and Multimedia Ministry needed to increase efforts to ensure that the Health Ministry's messages on the CAC and home quarantine SOP were well communicated.
He said there had been a number of media reports on confirmed Covid-19 cases who either waited days for a call from the district health office or had difficulties reaching it.
He also said some patients were unaware that the SOP for home quarantine could be accessed via the MySejahtera app or the Health Ministry's website, and wanted to speak to someone from the ministry for clarification.
"Those who have just been diagnosed with Covid-19 might be overcome with anxiety, so they will try to contact the department on the next steps to be taken.
"It must also be assumed that there will be elderly citizens who will call. Therefore, every call should be treated with urgency."
He cited examples where Covid-19 patients and their close contacts had to wait days for further action from the health authorities and their attempts to contact the nearest district Health offices or the Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre (CPRC) were unsuccessful.
He said last month, a 49-year-old woman and five family members in Petaling Jaya tested positive for Covid-19 and waited at home for three days before they received a call from the ministry. He said the woman's parents-in-law were in the high-risk group and had developed severe symptoms.
She was believed to have made calls to Sungai Buloh Hospital, but they went unanswered.
"Her in-laws' symptoms worsened, so she hired two private ambulances for RM2,000 to send them to a hospital."
An entrepreneur, he said, also faced similar issues and decided to stay and recover at home as he did not receive any calls from the district Health office.
Dr Subramaniam said the man's calls to the CPRC Covid-19 hotline were not picked up, while his messages to the dedicated WhatsApp number met with no response.
He also quoted an experience faced by the New Straits Times executive editor in an Op-Ed piece three days ago, where she, together with her children and aunt, were called in for testing two days after their quarantine period ended (having been in close contact with a positive case, who is the editor's husband).
"These are cases that have been reported in the media, but we are concerned there may be many others facing similar issues that could have gone unreported.
"Many could be similarly in the dark over the SOP (for home quarantine).
"We fear that not all individuals will be as responsible in taking the home quarantine seriously, hence we urge the government to urgently address these issues and make the necessary improvements, or we could see cases rise even higher in the near future."