Risk management covid19_nur alia athirah

CURRENT SITUATION OF COVID-19 IN MALAYSIA
PREPARED BY NUR ALIA ATHIRAH BINTI MOHD ZAIMY (GS57067)

CORONAVIRUS
Coronaviruses are a large
family of viruses which may
cause illness in animals or
humans. In humans, several
coronaviruses are known to
cause respiratory infections
ranging from the common
cold to more severe
diseases such as
- Middle East Respiratory
Syndrome (MERS)
- Severe Acute Respiratory
Syndrome (SARS).
The most recently
discovered coronavirus
causes coronavirus disease
COVID-19.
COVID-19
COVID-19 is the infectious
disease caused by the most
recently discovered coronavirus.
This new virus and disease
were unknown before the
outbreak began in Wuhan,
China, in December 2019.
COVID-19 is now a pandemic
affecting many countries
globally.
The most common symptoms of COVID-
19 are fever, dry cough, and tiredness.
Other symptoms that are less common
and may affect some patients include
aches and pains, nasal congestion,
headache, conjunctivitis, sore throat,
diarrhoea, loss of taste or smell or a rash
on skin or discoloration of fingers or
toes.
These symptoms are usually mild and
begin gradually. Some people become
infected but only have very mild
symptoms.
SYMPTOM OF COVID19
The first case of COVID-19 in Malaysia was detected on 24 January 2020. The WHO Country Office in
Malaysia has been working closely with the Ministry of Health to respond to this outbreak.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SELF-QUARANTINE, SELF-
ISOLATION AND DISTANCING?
Quarantine means restricting activities or separating people who are not ill themselves
but may have been exposed to COVID-19. The goal is to prevent spread of the disease
at the time when people just develop symptoms.
Isolation means separating people who are ill with symptoms of COVID-19 and
may be infectious to prevent the spread of the disease.
Physical distancing means being physically apart. WHO recommends keeping at least 1-
metre distance from others. This is a general measure that everyone should take even
if they are well with no known exposure to COVID-19.

SNAPSHOT OF STATUS OF THE COVID19 OUTBREAK SITUATION GLOBALLY
Globally, on 25 July 2020,
there have been 15,581,009
confirmed cases of
COVID19 including 635,173
deaths, reported to WHO.

Dr Tedros, in his media briefing yesterday, reminded people
not to let their guard down ‘we will not be going back to
the “old normal”. The pandemic has already changed the
way we live our lives. Part of adjusting to the “new normal”
is finding ways to live our lives safely.’
HIGHLIGHT
As the possibility of a protracted pandemic becomes
increasingly likely, countries are encouraged to conduct
periodic reviews of their national and subnational COVID-
19 response. This ensures that countries do not miss critical
opportunities for learning and improvement to better
respond to the COVID-19 outbreak. WHO has produced
guidance to assist in this exercise.
At the annual High-level Political Forum on Sustainable
Development held between 7–16 July 2020 all countries
expressed their support for the SDGs and discussed
response measures to help mitigate the negative effects of
COVID-19.
Ouagadougou: WHO is tackling COVID-19 fear and
stigma in Burkina Faso, West Africa, where both
patients and health workers have been shunned by
their communities.
For Somalis, COVID-19 is the most immediate crisis in
a seemingly unending cycle of floods, food insecurity,
conflict and outbreaks of vaccine-preventable
diseases like measles, cholera and polio. Against this
backdrop, WHO’s polio programme is working to
steer the COVID-19 response and, more broadly,
maintain vaccine immunity levels and improve access
to health care.

Here is the
weekly
snapshot
of the
COVID-19
situation in
Malaysia

Latest update for COVID-
19 cases in Malaysia

Actions taken by the Government of Malaysia and Ministry of Health to overcome COVID-19
To enhance the MoH efforts in keeping the spread
and mortality under control, a Movement Control
Order (MCO) was implemented on March 18, 2020.
The MCO related to the restriction of movement of
people into or out of an area. The Director-General of
the MoH emphasized that the order enforced came
under the Prevention and Control of Infectious
Diseases Act 1988 and the Police Act 1967 and would
help to control the spread of the virus.
(Bernama, 2020)
Movement Control Order

Actions taken by the Government of Malaysia to overcome COVID-19
Beginning from 15 March, Malaysia saw a significant jump in active cases. The Prime Minister of
Malaysia held a live nationwide telecast on 16 March 2020 to announce the decision of the federal
government in implementing the Movement Control Order (MCO). Based on the live addressing that
evening, six restrictions have been imposed:
1.The public is prohibited to mass gather or attend massive events including religious, sports, social
and cultural activities. All worshiping locations and business premises should be closed except for
supermarkets, public markets, grocery stores and convenience stores that sells everyday necessities.
For Muslims, all religious activities in mosques including Friday prayers are adjourned in line with
decision made on 15 March 2020 by the Special Muzakarah Committee Meeting of the National Fatwa
Council. Malaysians returning from abroad are required to undergo health check and self-quarantine
for 14 days.

2. Tourists and foreign visitors are restricted to enter the country. Closure of all kindergartens,
government and private schools, including daily schools, boarding schools, international schools,
tahfiz centres and other primary, secondary and pre-university institutions.
3. Closure of all public and private higher education institution (IPTs) and skill training institutes.
4. Closure of all government and private premises except for essential services (water, electricity,
energy, telecommunications, postal, transportation, irrigation, oil, gas, fuel, lubricants, broadcasting,
finance, banking, health, pharmacy, fire, prison, port, airport, safety, defence, cleaning, retail and food
supply).

The order was originally to be in effect from 18 March to 31 March, but has been extended four times
as additional two-week "phases" over the course of two months:
•Phase 2, announced on 25 March, extends the MCO to 14 April, as new cases continued to climb.
•Phase 3, announced on 10 April, extends the MCO to 28 April, as the number of cases was projected
by the WHO to peak in mid-April.
•Phase 4, announced on 23 April, extends the MCO to 12 May.

•On 10 May, the Conditional Movement Control Order was extended until 9 June, the fourth extension
since 18 March. Unlike the others, this extension is scheduled to last about a month.
•On 6 June, the Director-General confirmed that the movement control order would remain in force
since Malaysia is still being monitored under the Prevention and Control of Infections Diseases Act
1988.
•On 7 June, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced that the Conditional Movement Control
Order would end on 9 June, with the country moving into the Recovery Movement Control Order
(RMCO) phase between 10 June and 31 August.

Testing and Treatment Centres
•On 5 January, the National Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre (CPRC) under the Ministry of
Health Malaysia began operation. By early-February, 57 hospitals were reported to provide screening
services for coronavirus, while among them, 26 government hospitals are responsible for the
confirmation of coronavirus and the suspected patients. With the rapid increase of infections, a
further total of 409 sites across the country have been gazetted by the federal government as
quarantine zones for coronavirus patients comprising public universities, community colleges,
technical institutes, former National Service (PLKN) camps, training centres, polytechnics and hotels
owned by federal ministries, departments, agencies and statutory bodies.
•2 May 2020, 5,484 beds at 40 hospitals, 3,873 beds (in addition to 2,100 beds on standby) at 26
hospital extension centres/low-risk COVID-19 centres, 422 ICU beds, and 1,059 ventilators have been
allocated for COVID-19 patients.

•On 8 April, a consortium of associated laboratories in Malaysia comprising Gribbles Pathology, Quantum
Diagnostics and Clinipath Malaysia launched the country's largest COVID-19 collection and testing
programme to increase testing capacity. Malaysian public universities also providing research and scientific
capacity with 10 diagnostic laboratories at public higher learning institutions in the country nationwide have
been called as part of a joint initiative by the Higher Education and Science, Technology and Innovation
Ministries to help the Health Ministry in conducting 16,500 coronavirus tests daily. In spite of further
capabilities to conduct more tests, the Health Ministry had stated that the country is yet to find its suitable
rapid test kits to solved the increasing backlog of pending result cases along with the revelation that the
existing supply of coronavirus reagents test kits could only last for another week which causing the Health
Ministry to source from other countries including Singapore. As a response, the Federation of Chinese
Associations Malaysia (Hua Zong) has called on the federal government to ensure sufficient coronavirus test
kit reagents for the country especially among the Malaysia's eastern states of Sabah and Sarawak which are
reportedly struggling to sourced test kits reagents.

• The Solidarity trial, launched by WHO to compare the safety and effectiveness of treatment protocols
which included chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, interferon-beta, lopinavir/ritonavir and remdesivir,
would be conducted in nine government hospitals across the country.
• On 3 July, Minister of Health Adham Baba announced that both Malaysian citizens and foreign nationals
traveling to Malaysia would be required to pay fees when undergoing COVID-19 tests under the
Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (Fee for Coronavirus Diseases 2019 (COVID-19) Detection
Test) Regulations 2020, which came into effect on 29 June.

The subsequent key step taken by the MoH along
with the government to overcome the spread of
COVID-19 was to increase the number of hospitals
that could treat COVID-19 cases. There was also a
group effort between public and private hospitals to
accommodate the growing numbers of cases of
infection, comprising university hospitals and
Ministry of Defence hospitals (The Edge
Markets,2020).
Bans on mass gathering events

Bans on mass gathering events
Immediately after the spikes of the cases which related to the Sri Petaling Tabligh event, Prime Minister
Muhyiddin Yassin announces that all events that involving mass gathering in any genre including
international, religious, sports, meetups and social must be cancelled or postponed until 30 April 2020.
However, the end date for the ban on mass gathering events are subject to revision depending on the
situation of the outbreak. In addition, Registrar of Societies (RoS) bans all parties registered with RoS from
organising any meeting and activities until 30 June 2020.

Impact On Schools
• The Ministry of Education of Malaysia announces that all extracurricular activity in schools will be
suspended starting from March 2020 until further notice.
• On 15 April, the Education Minister Mohd Radzi Md Jidin announced that the Ujian Penilaian Sekolah
Rendah (UPSR) and Pentaksiran Tingkatan Tiga (PT3) examinations for standard six and form three
students have been cancelled for 2020 in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. He also announced that all
other major school examinations including the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) and Sijil Tinggi
Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) would be postponed to 2021 and August 2020 respectively.

Impact On Schools
• On 23 June, the Ministry of Education announced changes to school term holidays in order to help
schools better plan lessons that had been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and Movement Control
Order. The mid-term break would be reduced from nine days to five days. The end of the year break in
schools in Group A states (Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, and Terengganu) would be reduced from 42 days to 14
days.
• The end of the year break in Group B states (Malacca, Negri
Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Penang, Sabah, Sarawak, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya)
would be reduced from 41 days to 13 days. The Education Ministry confirmed that the school year for
2020 will now total 168 days.[116] In response, former Education Minister Maszlee Malik criticised the
Ministry for not consulting with teachers and teachers' unions including the National Union of the
Teaching Profession and West Malaysia Malay Teachers Union prior to amending the school term.

One of the initiatives agreed after
the Economic Action Council
meeting held on March 23, 2020
was the allocation of RM 600
million to the MoH to battle COVID-
19. According to Prime Minister Tan
Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, RM 500
million would be utilized to buy
ventilators and personal protective
equipment (PPE) and another RM
100 million would be used to
appoint 2000 nurses on a contract
basis. (Yusuf, 2020)

Actions taken by the media and NGOs
Mainstream and social media
COVID-19 has caused fear, anxiety, and confusion. The media, celebrities, and other influencers have
appealed to the public to stay at home and avoid mass gatherings. The media has started to use the
hashtag #stayhome. This hashtag has been used widely in the media, and it is hoped that important
messages to stop the spread of COVID-19 can reach all levels of society.
The MCO has affected Malaysia's economy. Most companies have
their employees working from home, and some workers have had
to stop working. NGOs have been actively helping those who are
affected by this pandemic. They have been providing food,
shelter for the homeless, and have even given out money to help
those in need. Some NGOs have helped by providing protective
masks, disinfection chambers (Bernama, 2020).

All frontliners are required to wear PPE. However,
due to the rapid increase in COVID-19 cases, there
have been shortages in PPE equipment. This
shortage could have endangered the health of
frontliners. Therefore, several NGOs and public
figures have helped to sew PPE for medical
frontliners. For example, several Malaysian
fashion designers associated with the Malaysian
Official Designers Association (Moda) have
produced PPE for local medical staff (Cheong,
2020).
Actions taken by the media and NGOs

Educational institutions, schools, and higher
education institutions have had to close due to
COVID-19. However, this has not stopped
researchers from various universities from
helping citizens in fighting COVID-19. Universiti
Putra Malaysia (UPM) for example has
produced an instant hand sanitizer and face
shields.
Actions taken by the public institutions

Children learning how to wear masks and wash hands in Penampang,
Sabah. As part of a 6 month programme to raise awareness and
distribute hygiene essentials. The Awareness programme starts in
Sabah and is a collaboration between MERCYMalaysia and UNICEF.

Measures to overcome the economic downturn due to COVID-19
• The impact of COVID-19 on the world economy as a whole has been devastating. According to The
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the COVID-19 pandemic has led to
social distress around the world, as well as huge economic disruption (OECD, 2020).
• The massive spread of the virus has affected the stock markets, and the enforcement of the MCO,
lockdown, and travel restrictions have significantly disrupted business activities in various sectors,
affecting people's income and causing economic chaos in the country. To minimize the economic impact
of this pandemic, Malaysia has taken several actions to recover the economy.

Measures to overcome the economic downturn due to COVID-19
• According to AmBank Group chief economist Anthony Dass, direct damage caused by the virus can be
seen in the tourism and travel industries, manufacturing, construction, mining, and agriculture, with
many workers being laid off and others being placed on unpaid leave (Murugiah, 2020).
• The Prime Minister of Malaysia Tan Seri Muhyiddin Yassin has particularly stated that the nation's tourism
industry has been crippled, with an estimated loss of RM 3.37 billion in the first 2 months of the year
(Dzulkifli, 2020). The forced closure of small businesses, mainly the small and medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs) and services, could probably lead to permanent shutdowns and many losing their jobs, as well as
individuals going bankrupt (Cheng, 2020).

Relaxation of Restrictions
Commerce
• On 7 June, the Mayor of Kuala Lumpur Nor Hisham Ahmad Dahlan announced that the Kuala
Lumpur City Hall will allow open markets, morning markets, night markets and bazaars to reopen
in stages after the implementation of the Recovery Movement Control Order on 15 June.
• On 22 June, Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that cinemas,
theatres and other live events would be allowed to reopen from 1 July, with a limit of 250 people.
• On 10 July, Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that family entertainment centres
including game arcades, karaoke centres, indoor funfairs, edutainment centres for children, and
kids' gymnasiums can resume operations from 15 July. However, discos, pubs, and night clubs
cannot reopen yet.

Education
• On 3 June, Education Minister Dr Mohd Radzi Md Jidin announced that the Government would
be distributing guidelines for reopening schools to teachers on 4 June as part of efforts to
reopen the education sector. On 6 June, Director-General of Health Noor Hisham
Abdullah announced that hair and beauty salons will be able to reopen on 10 June.
• On 10 June, Education Minister Mohd Radzi Md Jidin confirmed that schools in the country would
begin reopening in stages from 24 June, with priority being given to students taking secondary
and equivalent international leaving exams. As part of social distancing measures, schools will
serve pre-packaged food and all students will have their temperatures checked when entering
schools.
• On 26 June, Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that tuition centres, special education
schools and private schools would be allowed to operate soon.

Education
• On 29 June, it was reported that both public and private pre-schools, kindergartens, nurseries and day care
centres would resume operations from 1 July. In addition, several businesses have been allowed to reopen
including spas, wellness and foot massage centres, cinemas, theatres and "live" event venues. The
Government has also allowed a range of social functions including meetings, conferences, seminars, course,
training sessions, weddings, engagement parties, anniversary, birthday celebrations, and religious gatherings
to be held. In addition, swimming in public, hotel, condominium, gated community and private pools have
also been allowed.
• On 1 July, the Education Minister Mohd Radzi announced that schools for other students will reopen in two
stages from 15 July. Forms One to Four students, Years Five and Six pupils, remove class students and Form
Six Semester 1 students will return on 15 July while Years One to Four primary school pupils will return to
school on 22 July. He also confirmed that the 2021 academic year would be decided at a later date.
• On 14 July, Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that driving schools would be allowed to resume
their courses and training.

Marriages
• On 21 June, Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that couples whose marriage registration had
been delayed as a result of the Movement Control Order could not complete the process at all permitted
NGOs in the country including clan organisations, temples, churches, and religious bodies.
• On 22 June, Yaakob announced that the Government would announce on Wednesday (24 June) whether
the ceremonies would be allowed soon.

Places of worship
• On 28 May, the Ministry of National Unity announced that a total of 174 non-Muslim houses of worship
have been allowed to resume operations from 10 June according to the Standard Operating Procedure for
Houses of Worship in Green Zones including having a maximum number of 30 worshipers, subject to the
size of the premises. These house of worships include those under Fo Guang Shan; the Roman Catholic
Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur, the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship, the Malaysia Hindu Sangam,
the Malaysian Gurdwaras Council, and the Federation of Taoist Associations Malaysia. Marriages at
temples, churches, and religious associations have been postponed until 31 July 2020.

Places of worship
• On 15 June, Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that all 5,230 non-Muslim places of worship
would be allowed to reopen but had to adhere to social distancing guidelines including taking one-third
of their usual capacity and requiring attendees to download the MySejahtera application.
• On 3 July, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Dr Zulkifli Mohamad Al-
Bakri clarified that foreigners would not be allowed to attend congregational prayers at mosques and
surau until the Department had studied reports from the Federal Territories Islamic Religious
Department regarding the situation in mosques and surau.

Tourism
• On 26 June, Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that sectors and industries under the purview
of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture such as such as meetings, incentives, conventions and
exhibitions, travel and trade fairs, spa, wellness and reflexology centres would be allowed to open from 1
July. However, tourism businesses are required to abide by social distancing measures, limit crowds to
200-250 people, check customers' temperatures, wear face masks, and provide hand sanitisers. While
reflexology centers provided by the blind are allowed to reopen, only Malaysians can work in spas,
wellness, and reflexology centres.

Travel
• On 7 June, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced that interstate travel would be allowed from 10
June except in areas classified under the Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO).
• On 13 June, Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that Malaysians from peninsular Malaysia,
Sabah, and Labuan would be allowed to enter Sarawak without having to seek permission from the
Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) and take COVID-19 PCR tests prior to leaving for the
state.

Travel
• On 27 June, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong agreed
that their governments would collaborate to establish a Periodic Commuting Arrangement (PCA)
allowing residents from both nations who hold long-term immigration passes for business and work
purposes in the other country to periodically return to their home countries for short-term home leave.
• On 14 July,Malaysian Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein and Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian
Balakrishnan announced that cross-border travel and traffic between the two countries will resume on 10
August 2020 under two schemes: the Reciprocal Green Lane (RGL) and the Periodic Commuting
Arrangement (PCA). The Reciprocal Green Lane will allow essential business and official travel between
the two countries while the Periodic Commuting Arrangement will allow Singaporean and Malaysian
residents who hold long-term immigration business and work passes to enter for work purposes.

COVID-19 spreads primarily
through close contact with
someone who is infected,
but it can also spread if you
touch contaminated objects
and surfaces
You can protect yourself:
clean your hands and your
surroundings frequently!

Quitting smoking is not easy,
Changing the mindset and habits too
is not easy but its life saving

Children from all over Malaysia will be
going back to school as they reopen.

Risk management covid19_nur alia athirah

Risk management covid19_nur alia athirah

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