KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has thanked Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah for declaring a national state of Emergency to bring the Covid-19 situation in the country under control.
MMA said in a statement it supports the government’s decision to implement the second Movement Control Order (MCO) in six states most affected by the surge in cases of Covid-19, the Conditional MCO in six other states, and the Recovery MCO in Perlis and Sarawak.
The association said it will provide support in any way it can to assist the Health Ministry and the government manage the Covid-19 situation in the country.
“We urge the public to give their full support by fully adhering to the MCO’s SOPs (standard operating procedures) that have been announced.
“A second MCO is indeed necessary as cases of Covid-19 have been consistently on the rise with no sign of improvement. There is also concern over the B117 Covid-19 strain known as the UK strain that has been detected in the country,” added the MMA.
The association said all public hospitals in the country are overwhelmed with Covid-19 cases and healthcare workers are under intense pressure too thus urgent steps to address manpower issues in public healthcare must be taken to ensure the standard of care will be maintained.
MMA also urged the Health Ministry to work with private healthcare as the increasing patient load of Covid-19 cases at government hospitals may also affect the system and management of non-Covid-19 patients.
“We wish to once again remind the public on the importance of preventive measures against Covid-19. With full compliance to the standard operating procedures, we can break the chain of infections and flatten the curve.
“If we are committed to this, the country will recover from the pandemic sooner rather than later. To defeat Covid-19 and bring the pandemic to an end, it requires the cooperation and effort of all, and the whole country can be made to pay a heavy price if just one person lets their guard down,” said the MMA.The association stressed the fight against Covid-19 is a collective responsibility.
Going forward, the MMA called on the government to adopt a whole of society and whole of nation approach in managing the pandemic. — Bernama