MP SPEAKS | More Covid-19 data, faster processing to guide economic recovery

MP SPEAKS | Even though dining-in is now allowed in the Phase 1 states, including in the Klang Valley, many restaurants still don’t allow it due to various reasons.

They include (i) not all of their workers have been vaccinated, (ii) the number of cases in the community is still high so operators are concerned that they and their staff would face a higher chance of infection, (iii) customers are still concerned about dining-in because of the high number of reported cases, (iv) SOPs on dining-in were not clear, and (v) it may take some time for restaurant operators to rehire staff which they have let go during MCO 3.0.

One way the government can build up public confidence for the resumption of economic activity is to put in place better policies to manage Covid-19, healthcare, and the economy, such as (i) publishing and using more granular data and (ii) processing certain Covid-19 related information faster, especially on the MySejahtera App.

I have also outlined five areas where more granular data and faster data processing can lead to better policy guidance and faster economic recovery namely:

(i) Publishing the vaccination rate according to the district, over time.

(ii) Publishing the number of active Category 1-5 Covid-19 cases according to state, over time.

(iii) Publishing the ICU capacity and deaths according to state, over time.

(iv) Publishing the number of Covid-19 tests and positivity rate according to state, over time.

(v) Processing MySejahtera-related information faster (on an individual level).

I want to thank the Health Ministry (MOH) for already publishing more granular data on GitHub, including the number of tests and the positive rate by state (data up to Aug 11, 2021, is available) but more of such granular data needs to be published and used by the MOH, the Finance Ministry and other ministries for policy guidance and for the opening up of the economy in a responsible manner.

For example, showing the reduction in the number and percentage of Categories 3-5 Covid-19 patients as well as a reduction in the number of ICU cases in the Klang Valley would slowly give consumers more confidence to come out to dine-in and shop at retail outlets (subject to SOPs).

Showing the number of tests done and the positive rate by state, over time, can also be used to demonstrate that the government is doing enough testing, especially randomised testing, to identify Covid-19 patients in the community and to isolate and support them so that community transmission is decreased.

Although the number of PCR and Antigen testing has increased substantially over the past months, it is still insufficient as the testing strategy is focused mostly on targeted areas of infection and does not include randomised testing, which is important to detect and slow down community transmission. (The number of tests by state should increase until the positive rate is around 5 percent, as recommended by the WHO).

The MySejahtera app also needs to be made more responsive and “smarter” to allow for the following:

(i) Quicker issuance of the digital vaccination certificate (I still receive complaints that this has not been updated for fully vaccinated individuals) so that more people can participate in more economic activities such as dining-in and later, even to watch movies.

(ii) Quicker registration of vaccine certification for those who have been vaccinated overseas.

(iii) Allowing vaccine certificates to be “transferred” to dependents so that they can also participate in economic activities as fully vaccinated adults (my mother’s vaccination certificate is in my phone because she is registered as my dependent and some places do not recognise the physical vaccination card nor a screenshot of the digital vaccination certificate).

(iv) Faster processing of the status of those who have fully recovered from Covid-19 so that they can return to work/participate in economic activities.

While the features of MySejahtera have been greatly enhanced since it was first introduced last year, the response rate needs to be faster, and the app must be seen as not only a health and vaccination monitoring tool but a crucial part of the economic recovery process.

In addition to releasing and using and processing all of this data, there needs to be effective communication from the government, including through the use of various spokespersons (in addition to the health and finance ministers).

Effective use of infographics, which can be easily shared via social media, and proper communication and explanation of SOPs have also been severely lacking for the past one and a half years.

I trust that the new health minister, Khairy Jamaluddin, can continue the good work he did as science, technology and innovation minister and work together with his colleagues in the new cabinet to lead the charge in the recovery of our healthcare system and of our economy.

ONG KIAN MING is Bangi MP.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.