.jpg "A Fire Dept personnel sprays disinfectant at the Lembah Subang 1 People Housing Project in Subang February 4, 2021. u00e2u20acu201d Picture by Yusof Mat Isa")
KUALA LUMPUR, June 3 — The Academy of Medicine of Malaysia (AMM) has called upon the government to prioritise Covid-19 interventions that will help reduce cases, as well as protect hospitals and intensive care facilities during the full-scale lockdown.
It said doing so would also give Malaysian healthcare professionals (HCP) and front-liners respite.
“Moreover ministers are expected to be prudent in their spending to achieve the best possible outcomes with minimal expenditures and diminishing fiscal reserves,” AMM said in a statement.
It criticised the practice of public sanitation which was first carried out in March last year, adding that there is no evidence of its efficacy.
“It is very disturbing to see that the national disinfection exercise which was first heavily criticised 15 months ago by local experts is being repeated.
“In fact, the United States Centre for Diseases Control (CDC) has debunked the public sanitation approach, stating that spraying cleaning products or disinfectants in outdoor areas such as on sidewalks, roads or groundcover is not necessary, effective or recommended,” AMM said.
The academy also cited the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) alert on the hazards of this public disinfection exercise, which stated that spraying or fogging certain chemicals including formaldehyde, chlorine-based agent or quaternary ammonium is not recommended due to adverse health effects.
“We hope the Ministry of Health would update its ‘Garis Panduan Pembersihan dan Disinfeksi di Tempat Awam’ to reflect this.
“In this context of evolving scientific evidence vis-à-vis public health management of Covid-19, there should be a whole-of-government effort to produce ventilation guidelines for all indoor spaces,” it said.
AMM expressed support for infectious diseases expert Prof Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman’s remarks that the resources used on the outdoor disinfection exercise would be better spent elsewhere.
“The AMM stands with its members, Professor Dr Adeeba and Professor Datuk Dr Lokman Hakim, as well as the Malaysian Public Health Physicians Association in calling for science-based strategies for fighting Covid-19.
“Both the CDC and WHO have acknowledged that Covid-19 is an airborne virus. This has led to the creation of ventilation guidelines in many countries, including Singapore,” it said.
AMM said many commercial and residential buildings in the country may indeed require updating to meet new standards, which should be improved upon during the total lockdown so the pandemic can be overcome once and for all.
