Multifaceted approach vital to tackle Covid-19

KUCHING: Community empowerment is crucial to the ongoing battle against a resurgent Covid-19 virus.

Associate Professor Dr Helmy Hazmi of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak’s (Unimas) Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences said it was important to take a multifaceted approach to tackling the problem.
 
In response to the recent Covid-19 status update by the Ministry of Health (MoH), he stressed the significance of its fourth strategy, namely, community empowerment through effective risk communication.
 
He said continuous advice should be provided to at-risk and vulnerable groups through diverse means and mediums to raise awareness of their risk levels.
  
“We require effective and fresh communication to nudge them into taking early preventive measures,” he said.
 
On the five key strategies aimed at fortifying the nation’s preparedness against the escalating challenges posed by Covid-19, he said these strategies have been in effect since the onset of the pandemic.
 
“All of these strategies have been implemented since the beginning of the pandemic and most are still being carried out by health authorities. 
 
“What is crucial is to ensure preparedness at the facility level, encompassing physical and software aspects as well as the knowledge and mental and physical readiness of staff,” he added.
 
Yesterday (Dec 18), Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad unveiled a five-pronged strategy to bolster preparedness against Covid-19.
 
His strategies include early detection of cases and SARS-CoV-2 variants.
 
Additionally, they encompass community empowerment via TRIIS practices (Test, Report, Isolate, Inform, Seek), monitoring health facilities with a focus on high-risk groups, effective risk communication for community empowerment, and the digitisation of health systems for pandemic management through the MySejahtera application.
 
Dr Dzulkefly also revealed a 62 per cent surge in Covid-19 cases, with the current tally reaching 151 cases in intensive care units (ICU) and a total of 28 reported deaths last week.