Dr Adham: Raya gatherings at shopping complexes very risky

PUTRAJAYA, May 17 — The Health Ministry (MOH) is concerned about the possibility of family gatherings taking place at shopping complexes during the Aidilfitri celebrations this year, as these activities could trigger a crisis in the transmission of COVID-19.

Health Minister, Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba, expressing concern at the possibility, said that gatherings at shopping malls, due to restriction of visiting activities during Aidilftri, was very risky.

He said that this was because COVID-19 cases in the country have increased dramatically in the last two weeks, involving religious centres and focal points, where clusters could be triggered.

Dr Adham said this in a virtual joint press conference on the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme, with Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin today.

Dr Adham said that the presence of the new rapid and aggressive COVID-19 variants, already in the community, required continuous efforts to curb the risk of transmission, and the people have been urged to continue adhering to the standard operating procedures (SOPs), including maintaining physical distancing and wearing face masks.

He added that sporadic cases have increased compared with cluster cases, with 89 per cent of COVID-19 cases reported from April 9 to May 8 this year alone being sporadic cases.

Dr Adham also said that close contact detection activities were important, and the ability to implement them varied according to the respective districts, for example, in Terengganu all close contacts could be detected within 48 hours.

The capability depends on several factors, including the increase in human resources to investigate and track down contacts, the mobilisation of staff from other areas and the use of mobile phones to facilitate communication between positive cases and the district health offices, he said.

Meanwhile, Dr Adham said that the capacity of the COVID-19 Quarantine and Low-Risk Treatment Centre (PKRC) at the Malaysia Agriculture Exposition Park, Serdang (MAEPS) could be increased to 10,000 patients.

He added that PKRC at MAEPS currently accommodates almost 4,000 patients in categories one and two, while 1,000 beds can be placed for category three cases to reduce stress in public and private hospitals. Previously, category three patients were admitted to government or private hospitals.

Efforts to increase bed capacity in hospitals and intensive care units (ICUs) are also being actively carried out in the Klang Valley, especially at the Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Teaching Hospital and Universiti Putra Malaysia Teaching Hospital, apart from building modular ICUs in several places, he said.