LETTERS: On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the Covid-19 outbreak as a pandemic due to its rapid transmission across the globe.
After two years of battling the disease, WHO has acknowledged that the Covid-19 transmission is airborne.
This notion has spurred many countries to believe that living with Covid-19 will be the norm. Many leaders are optimistic that Covid-19 will become an endemic.
Singapore set the precedent in July 2021. It treated Covid-19 as a common flu.
The United States followed suit. In March 2022, the US announced that "Covid-19 no longer needs to control people's lives".
On April 1, 2022, Malaysia adopted the transition to endemic phase of Covid-19.
Restrictions on business operations and social activities were removed and the country's borders reopened.
But other countries have chosen to wait and see before they move on to the endemic phase. Why is it so hard to transition to the endemic phase?
Many experts expect Covid-19 to become an endemic disease when its presence becomes steady in a region, or at least predictable and manageable like seasonal influenza.
The endemic state does not denote a disease is rare or common, mild or severe.
Endemicity does not mean that the virus will disappear.
Instead, the optimistic view is that enough people will gain immune protection from natural infection and vaccination so that there will be less transmission and much less Covid-19-related hospitalisation and death, even as the virus continues to spread.
Indeed, WHO says Covid-19 is not over yet and reminds everyone to remain vigilant.
WHO reports more than 800,000 new cases per day globally with a cumulative total of more than 640 million confirmed cases, including 6.6 million deaths.
Under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988, Malaysia is still declared an infected area until December 2022.
This date might be extended until Covid-19 is manageable and under control.
Research and surveillance of the virus in terms of infectivity and emergence of new variants are essential as the infectivity rate for Covid-19 is high.
Further, to treat Covid-19 the same way as the common flu may not be the answer to grapple with the virus.
Scientific research recommends yearly vaccinations for flu. Covid-19 is a relative newcomer to the world of virology.
We are doubtful whether it will become a seasonal virus because it will take a long time for scientists to observe the evolution and uncover the mechanism on how the coronavirus settles down in the human environment.
Scientists are working to discover what are the myths and truths about the virus. We are unsure what other surprises are expected to come from this formidable virus. We should not let our guard down.
From the global-pandemic perspective, we have learned the importance of masking, hand hygiene and physical distancing which can help in reducing illness and death from respiratory viruses and drive innovation to tackle other threats from infectious diseases.
We have come to accept the massive changes we made in past pandemics as the new normal.
Insect-netting on house doors and windows helps keep out mosquitoes that transmit dengue fever and malaria.
Sanitary systems and access to clean water supply help eliminate typhoid and cholera epidemics.
Perhaps the lessons learned from Covid-19 in terms of disease prevention can yield similar long-term improvements in individual, community and global health.
PROFESSOR DR YU CHYE WAH,
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR DR CHEW HENG HAI
Faculty of Allied Health Professions,
AIMST University Malaysia
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times