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Wednesday, August 11, 2021

SOPs eased for fully vaccinated, here are the key points

PETALING JAYA: Covid-19 restrictions will be eased starting Tuesday (Aug 10) for those who have been fully vaccinated, announces Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

The Prime Minister said that among the restrictions being lifted were inter-district and interstate travel for long-distance couples, and prayers in houses of worship as well as the ban on dine-ins (for states under Phase Two and above of the National Recovery Plan).

Muhyiddin also said the Covid-19 digital vaccination certification will be used to verify an individual's immunisation status to the authorities.

He explained that individuals would be considered fully vaccinated 14 days after receiving the second dose of either the Pfizer, AstraZeneca or Sinovac vaccines, and 28 days after being jabbed with the single-dose Johnson & Johnson or CanSino vaccines.

Parents who are fully vaccinated will be allowed to travel across borders and states to meet with the children below 18-years-old, he added.

Long-distance married couples who are fully vaccinated will be allowed to travel across districts and states to meet each other, he said.

He said individuals who wanted to travel across borders must show their digital Covid-19 vaccination certificate to enforcement officers manning roadblocks.

At the same time, Muhyiddin also said that for all states, fully-vaccinated Muslims will be allowed to perform solat prayers in mosques and suraus.

Mosque and surau authorities must ensure that SOPs are strictly adhered to at all times and Muslims who come for solat prayers must show their digital Covid-19 vaccination certificate.

He also said the same applies to non-Muslims, where they will be allowed to visit their respective places of worship.

"The implementation of this at non-Muslim places of worship is subjected to the purview of the respective state religious authority and also the National Unity Ministry."

Muhyiddin also advised Malaysians to only dine-in when they need to, and choose premises with good ventilation systems.

"I would also like to propose to food premises operators to prepare more outdoor eating spaces in order to ensure good ventilation.

"We understand that the risks of spreading Covid-19 is high in indoor premises compared to outdoors."

Muhyiddin also said married couples who were fully vaccinated and would like to bring their children below the age of 17 along for dine-ins must strictly abide by the SOPs.

The Prime Minister also said sports without physical contact and recreational activities would be allowed in states under Phase Two of the NRP onwards from 6am to 10pm at outdoor and half-indoor areas.

Dine-ins at restaurants or cafes at clubhouse premises will be also be allowed and customers must show their digital vaccination certificate to verify immunisation status.

However, Muhyiddin said changing rooms and showers at clubhouse premises will not be allowed, in order to avoid groups gathering after sports which could cause the transmission of Covid-19.

The allowed sporting activities include jogging, exercising, taichi, cycling, skateboarding, fishing, equestrian, archery, hiking, singles tennis and badminton and golf, among others.

Meanwhile, Muhyiddin also said tourism activities involving homestays and hotels within the same state will be allowed.

"Homestay and hotel operators must ensure that those patronising their premises must show the digital Covid-19 certification to prove that they are fully vaccinated," he added.

Muhyiddin also said more details would be announced soon by the National Security Council (NSC).

He also said further easing of restrictions on economic sectors were currently being mulled by the government, and an announcement will soon be made.

Muhyiddin stressed that the loosened restrictions did not mean Malaysians can ignore SOPs to curb Covid-19, as there is still a high risk of contracting Covid-19 through dine-ins and sporting activities.

He said he has ordered the relevant ministries and agencies to ensure strict enforcement of SOP compliance in order to avoid Covid-19 infections.

"The government will not hesitate to retract all the loosened restrictions announced if there is non-compliance with the SOPs," he added.

If there were new infections at these premises, Muhyiddin said the Health Ministry will immediately take appropriate action such as risk assessment, which could lead to the closure of the said premises or compound notices to be issued.

Muhyiddin also stressed that Malaysians have a collective responsibility in combating Covid-19.

"The loosened restrictions are proof that the government is confident that Malaysians who received full vaccination doses can make their own risk assessment rationally.

"God-willing, we will win together," he said.

All states are under Phase 2 and beyond of the NRP except for Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Negri Sembilan, Kedah, Johor, Malacca and Putrajaya.

Muhyiddin also said fully-vaccinated travellers from overseas coming to Malaysia, including Malaysians returning from abroad, will be allowed to self-quarantine at home.

Below is the full speech by the Prime Minister:

FULL TEXT

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Saturday, August 7, 2021

The race against Delta; Sinovac Sinopharm discovers potent antibody against Delta variant, effective in early treatment of COVID-19

Beware of external outbreaks

As cases rise, experts say it’s time to expand Operation Surge Capacity nationwide

With the Delta variant confirmed to be the dominant strain in the country, experts are calling for Malaysia to continue its vaccination drive – especially in states outside the Klang Valley – to outpace the highly-infectious Covid-19 variant.

Greater vaccination efforts are needed in states outside the Klang Valley, health experts say, especially with the Delta variant casting a shadow on the country’s recovery.

With about 98% of the Klang Valley adult population having received at least the first vaccine dose under Operation Surge Capacity, public figures and health experts say attention should now be focused on other states in Malaysia.

“About two months ago, the proportion of cases for Greater Klang Valley represented 60% to 70% of total cases in Malaysia.

“But now it is about 50% to 60%. The rise in cases is both nationally and in Klang Valley, so it’s not just the concern of the Greater Klang Valley but every other state in Malaysia,” said Health deputy director-general (public health) Datuk Dr Chong Chee Kheong.

He added that the strain on the healthcare system in Klang Valley was now more manageable, but other states were now at risk.

International Islamic University Malaysia epidemiologist Prof Dr Jamalludin Ab Rahman suggested roping in community leaders to help get people vaccinated, including manual registration for those without the Mysejahtera app.

“The state government can identify who (the community leaders) are and if they are from rural areas. The government must go to people rather than wait for them to register,” he said.

He said low vaccine registration rates in certain states such as Sabah (44%) and Kelantan (65%) could be due to a lack of knowledge or technology.

“However, we should also study if there are other reasons like misunderstanding about vaccine safety. If that’s the case, the government needs to engage them and educate them,” he said.

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia epidemiologist Assoc Prof Dr Azmi Mohd Tamil concurred that lower vaccine sign-up rates in certain states might not necessarily be due to vaccine hesitancy, but to the use of Mysejahtera.

“There are a lot of rural elderly Malays who have yet to register with Mysejahtera,” he said.

“There may be lower IT literacy and lower usage of the Mysejahtera app. Lower broadband or Internet penetration could be a problem too.”

As of Thursday, about 65% of adults in Malaysia have received at least one dose.

However, Sabah still has a relatively low vaccination coverage with about 37% of adults receiving at least one dose, with Kedah and Kelantan showing only slightly higher numbers at 43%.

To ramp up vaccination rates, Medical Practitioners Coalition Association of Malaysia president Dr Raj Kumar Maharajah said doubts that the public might have on the vaccination programme must be addressed.

“There are questions over the efficacy of the vaccines, especially with reports on empty shots and breakthrough infections.

“People are wondering why they need to get vaccinated when people are getting infected. As such, we need public assurance from the government.

“We need to know the vaccination history of the Covid-19 fatalities, or the proportion of vaccinated individuals who went on to Category 4 or 5,” he said.

He added that the government should mobilise the over 7,000 general practitioners (GPS) across the country to aid the vaccination programme.

“The government is not using the GPS to the fullest. They should rope them in, and we must cut down on the number of mega vaccination centres,” he said.

The Star Malaysia by JOSEPH KAOS JR and CLARISSA

China's vaccine producer Sinopharm discovers potent antibody against Delta variant, effective in early treatment of COVID-19

China's vaccine producer Sinopharm announced on Wednesday that the research team discovered a potent neutralizing antibody against the Delta variant that could be effective in short-term preventive and early treatment of COVID-19 triggered by this variant.

The team, led by Yang Xiaoming, Chairman of Sinopharm China National Biotec Group, a Sinopharm subsidiary, found a monoclonal antibody which can effectively block the binding of novel coronavirus to the Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2. This enzyme is attached to the membrane of cells located in the intestines, kidney, testis, gallbladder, and heart and the antibody can prevent the virus from infecting cells, the company announced on its official WeChat account.

Monoclonal antibody, as a targeted therapy drug, has a strong specificity, significant efficacy and low toxicity. Known as the "biological missile", it has shown excellent efficacy and broad application prospects in the treatment of a variety of diseases.

The application of the antibody, called 2B11, can also significantly reduce the pulmonary inflammation caused by virus infection.

The Delta variant has become the main variant in global transmission of COVID-19 and is also the prevailing variant in China. Recent studies showed that 2B11 had a highly consistent neutralization activity against the Delta variant, suggesting that it has great application value in short-term prevention and early treatment of COVID-19 caused by this variant.

The company said the clinical application of the 2B11 antibody is progressing an orderly manner with hopes that it can be used in the prevention and control of COVID-19 in China as soon as possible. The research is expected to be a useful weapon against virus mutation.

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Sinovac to submit application for clinical research and emergency use on vaccines against Gamma and Delta variants in several ountries: company CEO

China's Sinovac will submit an application in several countries for clinical research and emergency use on vaccines targeting the Gamma and Delta variants, Sinovac CEO, Yin Weidong, said on Thursday during a forum on international cooperation on COVID-19 vaccines hosted by Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

MOH: Too soon to ease restrictions | The Star

Covid-19: Don't rush to relax SOP for those fully vaccinated, says Health Minister

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Friday, August 6, 2021

Covid-19 cases in Malaysia expected to continue to rise, says deputy Health D-G

Jan-Aug 6 2021 Covid daily new cases graph | Flourish

Template credits

Line, bar and pie charts by Flourish team

Patients gather at Covid-19 Assessment Centre (CAC) in Stadium Melawati Shah Alam February 8, 2021. Dr Hishamshah Mohd Ibrahim said currently, the rising new cases in the country were due to new variants such as the Delta variant. — Picture by Miera Zulyana

PUTRAJAYA, Aug 6 ― The daily Covid-19 cases are expected to continue increasing before the country’s vaccination rate achieves 80 per cent by the end of the October, said deputy Health director-general (Research and Technical Support) Datuk Dr Hishamshah Mohd Ibrahim.

He said currently, the rising new cases in the country were due to new variants such as the Delta variant.

“Taking the example of the high vaccination rate in the Federal Territory of Labuan and Sarawak has shown new cases are dropping but over here (Labuan and Sarawak), admission into intensive care units (ICU) and the death rate have shown a drastic fall.

“So if we could do the same thing in the Peninsula, more so at the hotspots which are experiencing rising transmissions especially in the Klang Valley with higher vaccination rate, we will see a drop in cases.

“The decline in cases may take some time but more importantly we want to see a decrease in terms of serious patients admission into wards and those who died,” he said in a special media conference here today.

Also present were Health Ministry (MOH) secretary-general Datuk Mohd Shafiq Abdullah, Health deputy director-general (Public Health) cum Greater Klang Valley Special Task Force commander Datuk Dr Chong Chee Kheong and Selangor Health director Datuk Dr Sha’ari Ngadiman.

He said as at July 22, MOH had detected 409 cases of variants of concern (VOC) related to Cov

id-19 virus in Malaysia which was 189 cases for Delta variant, 206 cases for Beta variant and 14 cases for Alpha variant. “This month, we expect the number of genome sequencing to increase as we have established a consortium of seven laboratories in the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation and at universities.

“It will increase another 1,000 genome sequencing a month and thus we will be able to have more detailed information on the distribution of variants in our country,” he said. ― Bernama

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