Malaysia Covid-19 pandemic weighed down by over 250 active clusters to record high 3,027 cases

According to Dr Noor Hisham, the Ministry of Health (MOH) is currently studying new strategies which will be submitted to the National Security Council (NSC) for consideration in view of the rise in new infections. - REUTERS

 

 Yesterday, Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah announced 3,027 new cases, the highest-ever daily figure reported since the first few COVID-19 cases were detected in Malaysia in January 2020.

Yesterday’s new infections were made up of 3,021 local transmissions and six imported cases. The local infections involved 1,577 (52.2 percent) Malaysians and 1,444 non-citizens.

Earlier this week, Dr Noor Hisham expressed the government’s concern over the spiralling numbers and said that healthcare facilities were struggling to cope with the steep rise in new cases.

For the record, during the week under review, 2,295 new cases were reported on Saturday, Jan 2; 1,704 (Sunday), 1,741 (Monday), 2,027 (Tuesday), 2,563 (Wednesday and 3,027 (yesterday).

The spike in new cases since October last year also prompted the government to extend the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO), which was supposed to end on Dec 31, by another three months to March 31.

With its cumulative total of 128,465 COVID-19 cases, Malaysia – which occupied the 71st spot yesterday in the list of 216 countries hit by the pandemic – is now at the 69th spot, overtaking Ethiopia (126,786 cases) and Myanmar (128,178 cases).

China, where the coronavirus was first detected at the end of 2019, stood at the 82nd spot with 87,278 cases, while Malaysia’s neighbour Singapore is at the 88th spot with 58,813 cases.

When Malaysia recorded 22,089 active cases on Monday (Jan 4), Dr Noor Hisham voiced his concern over the nation’s ability to accommodate patients at the various Quarantine and Low-Risk Centres and hospitals gazetted to treat COVID-19 cases as the facilities’ maximum capacity was 23,000.

At his media briefing on Wednesday, he said stricter measures may have to be implemented as a circuit breaker to prevent further spikes in new cases.

According to Dr Noor Hisham, the Ministry of Health (MOH) is currently studying new strategies which will be submitted to the National Security Council (NSC) for consideration in view of the rise in new infections after the ban on interstate and inter-district travel was lifted on Dec 7.

A targeted movement control order is expected to be imposed which will take into consideration COVID-19 cases and clusters in each state and district.

Dr Noor Hisham said MOH was not able to bring down the R-naught (R0) value to 0.5 as projected earlier to flatten the infection curve. The R0 value currently stood at 1.1 and is expected to rise to 1.2 or higher.

In a post on his personal Facebook account yesterday, he said if the R0 value remained at 1.2, daily new cases will reach 3,000 in the second week of February; 5,000 in the second week of April; and 8,000 in the fourth week of May.

The R0 value refers to the infectivity of a virus at the start of an outbreak in a community and indicates the average number of people who can be infected by the virus concerned.

The easing of travel restrictions has reportedly led to the emergence of five clusters, namely Intan, Semanbu and Tembok Mempaga in Pahang; Seragam Chepa in Kelantan; and Ehsan Ibol in Perak.

Apart from that, as of Monday, there were nine clusters related to social activities and gatherings.

Dr Noor Hisham also said that MOH may place asymptomatic and mild cases at quarantine centres now reserved for travellers returning from overseas.

The matter has already been discussed with NSC, he said, adding that the ministry may also collaborate with the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) on this matter.

“The war against the COVID-19 pandemic is not over yet. In fact, it is getting tougher.” Dr Noor Hisham’s grim words at the start of the new year must be taken seriously as Malaysia has been struggling with four-figure new case numbers since the third wave of infections erupted towards the end of September 2020.

Another worrying development is the emergence of a new COVID-19 variant in the United Kingdom which has reportedly been detected in other nations such as the United States, Canada, China and Singapore.

Known as B117, the new strain is said to be 70 percent more infectious and can spread easily to others.

South Africa, meanwhile, has identified a new variant of the coronavirus, referred to as 501Y.V2, which is behind 80 to 90 per cent of new cases reported in that country. Nigeria has also reported a new COVID-19 variant.

Workplace clusters, including those involving construction sites, have continued to contribute to new daily cases reported by the nation.

As of now, Malaysia has reported 579 clusters, out of which 316 have ended. Currently, 254 clusters are still active, with 52 of them reporting new cases. The latter include Bukit Pasir cluster (779 cases), Dataran Utas cluster (156) and Beringin cluster (101).

The Bukit Pasir cluster is in Muar, Johor, and was reported on Dec 24. The Dataran Utas cluster is in Petaling district, Selangor, and was announced on Jan 6, while the Beringin cluster, involving the workers of two factories in Penang, was announced on Nov 27.

Among the workplace clusters responsible for a high number of positive cases is the Seri Lanang cluster, which was announced on Dec 25 with 173 cases. On Jan 6, it recorded another 504 cases.

This cluster involves the districts of Klang, Gombak, Kuala Selangor and Petaling in Selangor.

The biggest cluster so far is the Teratai cluster involving the workers of Top Glove factories in Klang. It recorded 6,374 cases. Following this, the government issued a directive for all foreign workers in Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Sabah and Labuan to undergo COVID-19 screening effective Dec 1, 2020.

As of Jan 4, a total of 99,084 foreign workers have been screened with 2,079 of them testing positive for COVID-19.

Over the 24-hour period up to noon yesterday, 2,145 COVID-19 patients were discharged, bringing the total number of recovered cases to 102,723 (80.0 percent of total COVID-19 cases).

Currently, 142 patients are in the intensive care unit with 63 of them requiring respiratory aid.

MOH reported another eight deaths yesterday and Malaysia’s COVID-19 death toll now stood at 521 (0.41 percent of total cases).

During the week under review, nine fatalities were reported on Jan 2, 11 (Jan 3), seven (Monday), eight (Tuesday), four (Wednesday) and eight (yesterday).

Yesterday, Johor recorded the highest number of new cases at 1,103, with 950 cases from existing clusters and 57 from the new Senai Murni cluster.

Selangor reported 706 new cases with 232 from existing clusters, including 64 from the new Damai Pelangi cluster (involving a detention centre in Hulu Selangor district) and Hartamas construction site cluster.

Sabah reported 493 cases with 363 contributed by screenings of close contacts; and Kuala Lumpur 316 of which 136 were from existing clusters including 118 from the new Jalan Ipoh construction site cluster, Rungkup cluster, Desa Setapak cluster and Jalan Jaya cluster.

Penang reported 111 new cases; Kelantan 66; Negeri Sembilan 63; Perak 59; Kedah 30; Pahang 25; Putrajaya 17; Sarawak 14; Melaka 11; Terengganu 10; and Labuan three.

-- BERNAMA 

 

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NGOs hold free online classes on managing stress

A ‘Body Mind Powerbank Station’ class being held over Zoom.

TWO humanitarian non-governmental organisations are jointly holding free online classes on techniques to alleviate stress.

The Art of Living (AOL) Malaysia and International Association for Human Values (IAHV) will hold the classes, themed “Body Mind Powerbank Station”, to teach participants the proper stretching and breathing techniques that can assist people in dealing with anxiety, especially those induced by the Covid-19 pandemic and movement control order.

The classes are 20 minutes’ long and will be conducted via Zoom every Wednesday to Friday between 8pm and 9.30pm.

AOL Malaysia president Sundaresh Aw Yang said the techniques would help calm minds.

“The MCO has disrupted many lives, resulting in sleep disorder, anxiety, lost of concentration and increased anger that take a toll on the body.

“This programme, started in October, will help participants to relax and improve their energy, ” he said when contacted.

“Normal breathing will see about 20% of the oxygen we inhale go to our lungs.

Breathing Relaxation Exercise

https://youtu.be/-j5Z4E2wkh4

15 Minute Deep Breathing Exercise

https://youtu.be/F28MGLlpP90

 “Through the techniques to be taught in the classes, we can bring it up to about 70% to 80%.

“People who are angry will breathe heavily and in short breaths. Those who are happy will breathe lightly, long and deep, ” he added.
     Aw Yang said with better breathing, it would also help improve quality of sleep.

He said the techniques were started by AOL founder Ravi Shankar from India in 1981.

“It can help people to be more positive and have a peaceful mindset, ” he said, adding that there were 156 AOL centres globally and 50 in Malaysia.

IAHV president Tan Boon Yang said he had been practising the techniques for 15 years and found it to be beneficial.

“People commonly advise us to rid ourselves of anxiety and not be angry, but fail to guide us on how to do so.

“I had depression and the techniques have helped me to manage my anxiety, ” he said.

“I am now actively involved in humanitarian efforts.

“The techniques are very simple and I hope it can work for others too, ” he said.

He added that IAHV was a global organisation found in 25 countries, with its branch in Malaysia registered in 2012.

To register for the classes, http://tiny.cc/BodyMindEnglish

For further details, www.my-iahv.org or www.artofliving.org.my or call 012-413 0890 or 011-6168 2171.

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Coronavirus survives on skin five times longer than flu

 

TOKYO, Oct 18 (AFP): The coronavirus remains active on human skin for nine hours, Japanese researchers have found, in a discovery they said showed the need for frequent hand washing to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.

The pathogen that causes the flu survives on human skin for about 1.8 hours by comparison, said the study published this month in the Clinical Infectious Diseases journal.

"The nine-hour survival of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus strain that causes Covid-19) on human skin may increase the risk of contact transmission in comparison with IAV (influenza A virus), thus accelerating the pandemic," it said.

The research team tested skin collected from autopsy specimens, about one day after death.

Both the coronavirus and the flu virus are inactivated within 15 seconds by applying ethanol, which is used in hand sanitisers.

"The longer survival of SARS-CoV-2 on the skin increases contact-transmission risk; however, hand hygiene can reduce this risk," the study said.

The study backs World Health Organisation guidance for regular and thorough hand washing to limit transmission of the virus, which has infected nearly 40 million people around the world since it first emerged in China late last year. - AFP 

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The country is fighting to level a third wave of Covid-19 infections. Here’s a look at how the third wave came about and how the cases have spread so far.

Turning the tide on Malaysia's third Covid-19 wave

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 STAYING SAFE AT WORK

 

 MySejahtera QR code and thermal scanners are available at all Mitec entrances.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE pandemic has certainly upended all previous routines. It’s the era of the new norm now and with it comes plenty of standard operating procedures (SOPs) to observe.


In most workplaces, employees work side by side and employers have to implement distancing between work stations or assign half the crew to work from home to reduce headcount.

Other measures employers have taken include temperature scan, mandatory wearing of masks, placing hand sanitisers at various points, regular sanitisation of frequent touch points – all the while keeping an eye on the bottomline.

At Nestle (M) Bhd, throughout the different phases of this health crisis, the company has maintained robust communication across all levels in the organisation to keep the ties and values that bind the Nestle family strong.

“We swiftly transitioned to ‘work from home’ at the onset of the pandemic, providing tools and capabilities to all our office employees to perform their jobs effectively,” said Nestle (M) Bhd chief executive officer Juan Aranols.

“These arrangements have evolved during RMCO, but we still have around 50% of our office-based employees working from home.

“For all our colleagues at the factories, warehouses and sales offices, we adopted all necessary measures to ensure that the workplace is safe based on the Health Ministry guidelines and our own practices.

“We have also shared, coached and encouraged our suppliers and distribution partners to comply with all SOPs.”

Nestle also produced an employee health and hygiene handbook which outlines guidelines on health screenings, self-declaration on travel and close contacts, handwashing, wearing masks, physical distancing, as well as procedures on reporting a Covid-19 case at the workplace.

Additionally, Nestle has a rigorous contact tracing protocol that is activated once an employee presents symptoms from potential exposure to the virus.

At Lexis Hotel Group, the pandemic has strengthened the bonds within the organisastion.

“The safety and health of both our staff and our guests are top priorities, not to mention a shared responsibility.

“All of us at Lexis take this very seriously. We stay vigilant and have each other’s back.

“We work hand in hand to keep our resorts safe not only for guests but also for each and every one of our team members,” said Lexis Hotel Group president Mandy Chew Siok Cheng.

The group management set up a comprehensive guideline and SOPs that are entrusted to the whole team to maintain and practise at all times, including regular temperature checks and health updates, strict “mask-on” and hygiene policies as well as rotating shifts and adjusted working hours to maximise social distancing in the workspace.

“To keep our guests safe and happy, we need to first stay safe and high spirited ourselves.

“Being in the hospitality industry, we play host to everyone who walks through our doors every day. As such, we do everything to the best of our ability to ensure that they feel safe and comfortable at all times, so we certainly appreciate these SOPs and guidelines that enable us to do so better,” shared Chew.

At the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (Mitec), the challenge is in handling a large number of visitors.

Beyond the compulsory SOP set by the National Security Council, Mitec’s comprehensive workplace SOPs include continuous staff training; public awareness and multi-media displays on safety and health measures; physical distancing at staff work areas, public areas and event venues; ISO 22000 advanced food safety measures; routine surface cleaning; reduced touch points, as well as air quality control and daily monitoring systems.

With the resurgence in Covid-19 cases over the last week, updated work precautions have been issued to all Mitec team members, which include breaking work hours into three shifts to lower the number of people at the office.

“Mitec has an emergency management system in place with paramedics and health professionals on duty during business hours to immediately address any situation,” said Mitec chief executive officer Gunther Beissel.

“We are also the only trade fair venue in the country with our own in-house medical clinic including an isolation room if needed.

“There is an ambulance on standby during business hours and extended hours during events.

“I am proud to say that every staff member has embedded this new norm into their daily operations and has remained vigilant at all times to help combat the pandemic,” he said. 

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Peeing Problems ?

Men, if you are having trouble with urination, it could be due to an enlarged prostate.

WHEN it comes to men’s health, the prostate is one of the organs that garners the most attention as it is a vital part of the male reproductive system.

The prostate is a small, squishy gland about the size of a walnut, located deep inside the groin, below the bladder, at the base of the penis and in front of the rectum.

The prostate is a walnut-shaped male gland situated deep inside the groin, below the bladder.- 123rf.com

 An enlarged prostate is, by far, the top reason men have trouble peeing. The prostate gland sits right below the bladder. Urine travels from the bladder through a channel that runs right through the prostate to the urethra, where it exits the body.

A sexual gland, its most important function is the production of a fluid that, together with sperm cells from the testicles and fluids from other glands, makes up semen.

“When a man reaches climax, the sperm is mixed with water from the prostatic fluid and propelled out through the urethra tube.

“So, he ejaculates two things – the prostatic fluid and the semen,” explains consultant urologist Dr Datesh Daneshwar.

“This whole mechanism is so intricate that at the time of climax, he needs to stop peeing.

“There is a muscle that stops you from peeing, yet allows the semen to come out through the urethra via the penis and out of the body.”

Men often think that prostate enlargement (benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH) is a natural part of ageing, but this is not necessarily true.

Says Dr Datesh, “With ageing, the prostate can enlarge, and if it does, it usually enlarges in the outward direction and doesn’t cause a compression of the urethra.

“It does not cause symptoms all the time and needs no treatment because it doesn’t trouble a man.

“But when it enlarges in the inward direction, it causes a blockage of the urethra and can lead to men having problems passing urine or with ejaculation; it can also cause erectile dysfunction.

“Being told on a routine ultrasound that your prostate is enlarged is not a reason to run to your urologist, unless you have some bothersome urinary symptoms – even something as trivial as needing to constantly get up in the middle of the night to pee.”

Aside from those who sit most of the day, avid male cyclists may also be at risk of developing prostatitis due to the compression of their pelvic area

No one knows the actual cause of prostate enlargement, although ageing, changes in the testicular cells and testosterone levels are believed to play a role in the growth of the gland.

The urologist says, “All the nerves that allow an erection are located around the prostate, and if you have an enlargement, these nerves are compressed and go wonky, so you will not have a proper erection.

“The inner part of the prostate is mostly muscle, so it’s pliable or elastic.

“Due to the enlargement, it becomes stiff – similar to inflammation that can take place in other body parts, e.g. the neck, legs, arms, etc.

“All this while, we have assumed that this enlargement has got to do with the increased number of prostate cells.

“However, I found that a lot of men have an injury to the prostate that makes the individual cells enlarged.”

For clearer understanding, Dr Datesh presents the following scenarios to his patients.

Imagine you have been hit hard on the arm.

When you put on a shirt, your hidden swollen arm may look “muscular”, but in actual fact, it is injured.

Or you could have hit the gym, worked out really hard and built your arm muscles, making you truly muscular.

The net result is the same: enlargement.

“The majority of men who have an enlarged prostate have a component of inflammation, which is known as prostatitis.

“It could be caused by swollen cells, which can be the result of a bacterial infection or injury.

“The bacterium that has been implicated in this is Chlamydia trachomatis, which is sexually transmitted (and causes chlamydia).

“It can remain dormant inside your prostate for years before acting up.

“As for injury, the mode is unclear – it could be caused by a catheter that was put into the penis during surgery or a camera that was inserted into the penis to remove a kidney stone, etc.

“Yet, there are men who have none of these, but still have an injured prostate,” he says.

He adds that, “Some factors that may cause the injury are excessive sitting or cycling.

“Any pressure on the perineum can lead to inflammation of the prostate and pelvic floor muscles, and this then causes urinary problems.”

A recurring problem

Besides urinary problems (i.e. dribbling, pain or too frequent), other symptoms of prostatitis include blood in the urine, groin pain, rectal pain, abdominal pain, lower back pain, fever, chills, body aches, urethral discharge, painful/ premature ejaculation, poor erection, lack of morning erection and sexual dysfunction.

Depending on the cause, prostatitis can come on gradually or suddenly.

It might improve quickly, either on its own or with treatment.

Some types of prostatitis last for months or keep recurring, which can greatly affect a man’s quality of life and cause low self-esteem.

To treat prostatitis, doctors will prescribe antibiotics, alpha blockers (to relax the bladder neck and muscle fibres where the prostate joins the bladder) and anti-inflammatory agents.

They may also suggest a prostatic massage, which can be very unpleasant.

Unlike BPH, which affects men above 50, most prostatitis patients are in the 30-50-years age bracket.

Dr Datesh says, “I have seen patients as young as 17 and as old as 90 with prostatitis.

“The management of this is different from standard management of BPH.

“Until now, we have never had a proper curative management, so the problem can be treated, but will come back every few months or years.

“A prostatitis patient then becomes a permanent patient of the urologist because his condition recurs.”

He relates a case of a 42-year-old fit and healthy patient who was rushed to the emergency department because he couldn’t pee after returning from a long flight.

A catheter was inserted and almost one litre of urine was drained.

He shares, “We started him on medicines and hoped he could pee.

“A few days later, we removed the catheter, and once again, he couldn’t pee.

“So, the next option would have been to do a surgical transurethral resection of the prostate, but that would have left him with sexual dysfunction for the rest of his life, and that wasn’t fair to the young man!”

He explains: “The surgery involves going through the urinary tube and coring his prostate from within to cut off the inner part (like removing the core of an apple) so that he can pee easier, but in the process, we would have altered the anatomy in the region and destroyed a lot of things.

“The man might end up having incontinence or retrograde ejaculation as the semen goes back into his bladder … everything goes haywire.

“An old man who cannot pee might be thankful, but not a young person.”

Instead, Dr Datesh treated him using antibiotics, along with low intensity shockwave therapy – a method that applies shockwaves directly to the prostate to reduce the inflammatory response and heal the tissues.

“After one session, this man was able to pee, and now, two years later, he’s peeing like a horse!

“I used to do the coring surgery every week, but I haven’t done one in two years because the shockwave therapy provides an effective option,” says the extremely pleased Dr Datesh, who is among the handful of local urologists practising this non-invasive method.

A ‘shock-ing’ option

Shockwave therapy has been around for 40 years and was initially used to break kidney stones, but has since been modified.

Instead of breaking, it creates regeneration and is used in wound healing, arthritis and muscle spasms.

In urology, it is considered new and has been used in the last 12 years to open up blocked blood vessels (due to diabetes, hypertension or heart disease) and enhance circulation to the penis.

“It also wakes up your stem cells to create regeneration.

“As we get older, our stem cells become more dormant and that’s why we don’t heal so well.

“It feels like acupuncture. There are zero complications, no burning sensation and no reported side effects.

“It’s not mainstream treatment, but the science is good and patients have this non-invasive option.

“There’s no fixed duration for treatment, but I do it twice a week for a total of 10 sessions, each lasting 12 minutes.

“Once the therapy is completed, antibiotics and alpha blockers are given for a month,” shares Dr Datesh.

While medicines (which come with side effects) can sort out 90% of prostatitis cases, there will be recurrence for 50-60% of patients after a few months or years.

With shockwave therapy, there is a 90% cure rate, but the studies only go back to the past eight years.

So far, Dr Datesh says the majority of his patients remain well.

“Like any muscular problem, it does go away, but there is a chance for it to come back and we don’t know why this happens.

“I’m extrapolating that humans are not supposed to be on their butts the whole day, but we cannot tell people to stop sitting!

“This problem is not seen in people who stand or do manual labour.

“How much butt tissue you have is also a factor, because without much flesh, the area is compressed further when you’re seated,” he adds.

Unfortunately, there are no tests or scans you can do to diagnose prostatitis – it’s a clinical diagnosis, akin to endometriosis in women.

“It’s very difficult to prove prostatitis microscopically or conclusively because we would have to take out the prostate and send it to the lab for analysis – obviously, this is not possible.

“So we have to put a lot of things together before coming up with a diagnosis.

Dr.DATESH DANESHWAR:

According to Dr.Datech,aAround 80% of men walking around with urinary problem and sexual dysfunction actually have prostatitis and don’t know it.

“They all want the blue pill (sildenafil)!” he says, smiling.

“They need to sort out their prostatitis, then they can enjoy life.”

Men who don’t ejaculate enough may also experience some amount of prostatic inflammation at some point.

“Best to do it three times a week!” he says with a wink.

Good urine flow

Men, irrespective of age, are supposed to have good urination and morning erections their whole lives – it shows that their hormone levels and circulation are intact.

For the past decade, Billy (not his real name), 54, had been experiencing poor urine flow.

It started when he took antinausea pills before going fishing.

Once he returned to shore, he couldn’t pee.

“Apparently, these pills can make any underlying prostate issues surface.

“I sought treatment, and for a while it was okay with medicines, but the problem returned three years ago.

“Although I had no other symptoms, I knew it was a prostate issue as I’m a doctor myself,” says the anaesthesiologist.

He did a series of tests and scans to rule out cancer.

Besides an enlarged prostate and a slightly elevated prostate-specific antigen test level, the results came back negative.

He was prescribed drugs and hormone suppressants.

Billy shares, “The flow was improving, but it still wasn’t good and the side effects were unpleasant.

“It reduced my sexual satisfaction as it caused dry ejaculation.

“I was contemplating surgery because both my late father and grandfather had similar problems and underwent surgery in their 50s.”

For a year, he lived with the dysfunction until he found out about shockwave therapy.

Six sessions later, he noticed an improvement.

“Since the scans and tests showed nothing, the urologist decided to treat my symptoms as prostatitis.

“My pee is much better now than it was 10 years ago.

“I’m at the stage where I only take drugs once a week or when necessary.

“I believe I have an enlarged prostate and prostatitis as both can co-exist.

“I would probably need surgery at some point, but hopefully, I can delay it for another 10 years,” he says.

Dr Datesh concludes, “Men, be aware that urinary problems are not normal at any age, and if you have them, it is not necessarily related to cancer or BPH. You’re not doomed.

“It could be an inflammatory problem or as the Malays would say‘ masuk angin’. Get it checked.”

By REVATHI MURUGAPPAN starhealth@thestar.com.my

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KUALA LUMPUR: The recovery phase of Malaysia's COVID-19 movement control order (RMCO) will be extended to Dec 31 and tourists will remain barred from entering the country, said Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

Speaking in a televised address on Friday (Aug 28), the prime minister said even though the number of new cases in the country has fallen, the virus is still raging globally. The RMCO phase was originally scheduled to end on Aug 31.

"I am aware that based on global developments, we will go through a lengthy period before the country can be completely free from the threat of COVID-19," he said.

"For now, the situation is controlled. However, if there is an increase in cases in certain locations, the government will take a targeted approach by implementing enhanced movement control order or targeted movement control order, as previously enforced in several locations."

He added: "This means that the government requires a legal mechanism to continue efforts to curb and control the spread of COVID-19. Hence, for the benefit of you all, the government has decided to extend the recovery movement control order until Dec 31, 2020."

He also emphasised that no individual will be excused from these laws and anyone who breaks the regulations will be punished.

Mr Muhyiddin expressed his support for the Ministry of Health (MOH) to increase the fines for those who break these laws, to twice or thrice the current amounts.

The prime minister also pointed out that the extension will ensure all parties adhere to the standard operating procedures and health protocols that have been outlined.

He added that foreign tourists are still barred from entering Malaysia during this period to prevent the spread of imported cases into the country.

READ: COVID-19 virus mutation that is '10 times' more infectious detected in Malaysia: Health director-general

Almost all sectors have been permitted to resume their operations, except for night clubs and entertainment outlets, the prime minister said.

All sporting activities are permitted, sans the presence of spectators or overseas participants, he added.

As of Friday, Malaysia reported a total of 9,306 COVID-19 cases and 125 deaths. Around 97 per cent of the patients have recovered.

A total of 10 new cases were detected on Friday, the MOH said.

READ: Commentary - With COVID-19 under control, the worst is over for the Malaysian economy

The MCO, first imposed on Mar 18 to control the spread of COVID-19, was previously extended three times until May 12.

It was initially enforced when the number of daily new cases saw an alarming three-figure spike. Under the MCO, domestic and international travel was barred, and people were encouraged to stay at home to break the infection chain.

After six weeks of economic inactivity, Malaysia eased into a “conditional MCO” beginning May 4,  allowing almost all economic sectors to reopen. 

Subsequently, controls continued to be lifted over time. Daycare centres, hair salons, beauty parlours, open markets and night markets were given the green light to reopen.

Malaysia later entered the RMCO phase from Jun 10, where almost all social, educational, religious and business activities, as well as economic sectors reopened in phases, with standard operating procedures to be adhered to. Interstate travel was also permitted while the country's borders remained closed. The current control order, which began on June 10, was due to expire on Monday.

Four months of efforts seemed to have paid off as Malaysia began to report mostly single-digit increase in daily new cases - and even zero local transmission on a few days - until new clusters emerged.

On the back of 13 new clusters detected during the RMCO phase, Mr Muhyiddin had earlier reminded Malaysians to comply with social distancing rules and warned the public not to be complacent.

On Aug 3, Malaysia's Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that the wearing of face masks was compulsory in crowded public areas, including markets, supermarkets, tourist areas, cinemas and on public transport.

BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its developments

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Supersized and overweight civil servants

 

The public waiting their turn for services at a government department. - Filepic

When those two words describe a nation's public sector, it means it's truly a burden on taxpayers.

POOR civil servants! If you watched Disney’s animated film Zootopia, you would have caught the hilarious scene where the heroes, a rabbit and a fox, rushed to the Department of Motor Vehicles to check out a licence plate, only to get very, very slow service from the sloths manning the counter.

It would appear this stereotyping of civil servants’ work ethic is universal, which is why the parody tickled audiences everywhere.

Now Malaysians have another reason to make fun of their civil servants: they’re too fat. At least the ones in Putrajaya are, according to the 2015 National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) which showed it has the highest rate of overweight and obese citizens.

It’s an established fact that Putrajaya is populated overwhelmingly by government employees, which means those living and serving in the very heart of the nation’s administrative capital are rather unhealthy.

That’s a bummer because, design-wise, Putrajaya got it right. It was a winner in the 75,001­ to 150,000-population category for the Whole City Award under the International Awards for Liveable Communities 2012.

In the paper submitted for the awards, Putrajaya boasted of having “lush greeneries surrounding buildings, infrastructure, (12) parks and gardens.” What’s more, the same paper took into account the need to keep Putra­jaya folks fit and healthy.

It noted that 28% of the residents had a normal BMI (Body Mass Index), 36.3% were overweight, 27.4% obese and 8.3% were even underweight. That was in 2011.

Just four years later, 37% of Putrajayans are said to be overweight and their obesity rate is 43%, according to the NHMS findings.

These are alarming jumps and more so when there were efforts like the Healthy Parks, Healthy People programme to get the residents to exercise to stave off lifestyle diseases like hypertension and diabetes. Among the activities was the Putrajaya Inter-Park Ride monthly cycling event.

So what gives? Why are Putrajayans and Malaysians on the whole so fat? We hold the title of Fatties of South-East Asia; some reports say the whole of Asia.

Some people may, in a perverse way, hail having an overly well-fed population as a sign of a nation’s prosperity. After all, the fattest people in the world are the Americans.

A How’s Life? 2015 Report by the Organisation for Economic Coopera­tion and Development ranked the United States as the nation with the most obese population. It also had the fattest children and the unhealthiest teenagers by a wide margin.

The findings are said to be a blow to the Obama administration and First Lady Michelle Obama because they have been championing this cause for years, including reducing sugar and salt from school lunches.

So if both the US and Malaysian Governments couldn’t stem the fat tide in their respective countries, who can? I would say it’s still the government and we the people.

What we have is a terribly bloated public sector. The Star, quoting Prime Minister’s Office statistics, pointed out that at 1.4 million employees, it’s the largest civil service in South-East Asia.

Supersized and overweight. That’s a double whammy and the kind of Malaysian Book of Records we don’t need. So for a start, how about really downsizing the civil service? After all, why do we need so many civil servants to serve a population that’s way smaller than those in neighbouring countries like Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand?

Next, I support calls to make it mandatory for civil servants to lose the fat and stay healthy. This is especially so for those who have yet to develop serious illnesses like diabetes. If need be, withhold promotions and salary increases if they don’t meet this KPI.

The reason why I am pushing for this is because civil servants get free medical services in government hospitals and clinics, even after retirement.

That’s a longstanding benefit which I don’t object to, since my retired police officer father is a beneficiary. But with a large, unhealthy government workforce, you can imagine the humongous medical bill we taxpayers are burdened with.

If nothing is done, it will become a bigger burden because, as doctors have warned, 20 years from now, those overweight and obese citizens will be suffering from all sorts of illnesses from stroke, heart disease and kidney failure to diabetes.

All that “will increase the health budget to an unsustainable level,” Malaysian Medical Association president Dr Ashok Zachariah Philip told The Star.

Thanks to my role as the primary caregiver to my elderly parents who suffer from various illnesses, I know how scarily expensive medical care can be for those without access to free treatments.

As a private sector employee, I am grateful to be working for a company that gives me good medical coverage. But I have also bought my own health insurance to prepare for the day when I retire and lose my safety net. In the meantime, I work at staying healthy and medication-free.

As I said, I do not begrudge the medical benefit for government servants. What I do begrudge are those who take it for granted, instead of taking responsibility for their own well-being.

If the Government can work on getting its workforce in shape, non-public sector citizens too can do their part by eating less and more healthily and getting off our butts.

Admittedly, it’s hard now to go out for a run or even a stroll because of the current heat wave and haze. But we can try taking the stairs instead of the lift, drink more water than teh tarik and yes, eat less of our beloved nasi lemak.

Proud as we are that Time magazine ranked it as the ninth healthiest breakfast in the world, we know better. A dish that tastes that good cannot be healthy!

I leave this thought with you: The OEDC report, which measures the personal and economic health of nations, found that the United States indeed topped the chart in personal wealth and even the number of rooms in American homes.

So yes, they have the wealth but where’s the health?


By June H.L. Wong

So Aunty, So What?

Aunty likes this quote by humourist Jarod Kintz: Obesity isn’t as cool as it used to be, back in the earlier centuries. Before it was a reflection on your gross income. Now it’s just gross. Feedback to aunty@thestar.com.my

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