Covid-19 How to make the difference

Hell Wishes book preview and Follow through on Hell Wishes published on my blog https://hopetributemalaysia.wordpress.com/ have garnered about 550 views since 27 January 2021. This 3rd posting is about how to make the difference re Covid-19.

The knowledgeable experts need to be involved in brainstorming lab workshops to facilitate the relief programs and focus with one mind on addressing the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the previous postings we noted that there is no cure for patients inflected with the virus. By all means intensely treat breathing difficulties, severe cough and flu as done before even without Covid-19. Millions are spent by the Malaysian government on Covid-19 testing, now more millions planned for vaccines. Ought not millions be put to care for those affected by breathing difficulties, cough and flu, and only then as a next prudent step carry out Covid-19 test and track all confirmed cases after discharge. There must be increased resources and centers of treatment the country’s capacity to accommodate active cases that were now just a hair under 40,000. The lab workshops can confirm the data.

On 26 January 2021 Malaysia had 190,434 cases, deaths 700 (0.36%). Recovered 149,160. 190,434 – 40,574 active cases = 149,860 The effectual recovery rate hence can be taken to be 149,160 / 149,860 = 99.5%. Experts need to embrace this as the lead key indicator and not the nominal recovery rate of 78% or death rate of 0.36%.

As mentioned in the two posts, the number of category four and five Covid-19 patients, i.e. those with respiratory infections requiring ventilators and those critically ill with accompanying organ issues were now (third week of January 2021) five times what they had been at the height of last year’s second wave. The key 99.5% recovery rate must not worsen. Infections in category three must be hospitalized for treatment too.

MCO2 was first said to cost RM600 million daily versus RM300 million for MCO1. Even half of RM300 daily expense could be better used to keep deaths low. Malaysia’s Covid-19 deaths of less than half a percent compares well against global stats of above two percent. Malaysia’s Finance Minister is maintaining its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth target will not be below 6.5% for 2021. What outcome from the emergency declaration and the second round of the movement control order (MCO2) enforcement can be highlighted to deflect pessimism.

Merely lifting the conditional movement control order will not be enough to revive the economy if the people are not convinced it is safe to go out and spend to increase demand for businesses in the Covid-19 pandemic. The country also did not implement better contact tracing to help reduce the number of daily cases as well. Malaysia is currently in the 29th spot in the list of countries with the highest number of Covid-19 infections in a two-week period as at January 25. when there was a four-digit hike in daily cases. Malaysia also recorded the second highest cumulative Covid-19 cases per one million population in Asean of 5,773 but is behind Singapore with 10,145 cases. Several European countries have toughened movement restrictions and implemented tighter nationwide curfews in a bid to stem the spread of Covid-19, and Malaysia has failed to learn from Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, where society had continued to function without harsh lockdowns.

Restricting restaurant table to two persons in food and beverages is a less harsh lockdown. There can be some discretion for customers coming from the same home. Will this lead to bigger devastation?

Think inter district travel harming the economy and many customers like Harris will say he misses his favorite breakfast eatery because there is barricade in place blocking his five minute drive to the eatery. We must not lose sight of reviving our small businesses and what better way to promote to the community than making hawker food flourish once again.

Indeed we need a Covid-19 Revolution to adapt measures to the pandemic otherwise livelihoods vanish and without money to spend the masses cannot help drive the economy.