To sanitise or not to sanitise

PETALING JAYA: The recently launched nationwide sanitation exercise continued to draw intense debate from experts over its effectiveness.

In the latest round, a group of top scientists said they were behind University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) Covid-19 task force chair Datuk Prof Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman who questioned the need to roll out the sanitation programme and saying that the money could be better used elsewhere.

Dr Adeeba had raised this following Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin’s announcement of a two-day mass sanitation programme, which began on May 29 as part of the effort during lockdown to bring down the surging Covid-19 numbers.

The group of scientists shared Dr Adeeba’s arguments that the resources for outdoor disinfection could be better spent elsewhere such as for medical equipment and food for volunteers.

However, the political secretary to Zuraida, Nor Hizwan Ahmad, in a statement on Friday said a total of 26,000 sanitation operations had been conducted since the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country and would continue as an effort to prevent Covid-19 infection, citing new variants that are present in the community.

“The people need assurance and appreciate efforts made by the government to minimise the risk of infection.

“Furthermore, it is focused on areas that have been confirmed to have had an active case of Covid-19, ” he said.

Nor Hizwan explained that the sanitation process was a public sanitisation procedure, which includes cleaning, decontamination and disinfection.

Recently, the Fire and Rescue Department director-general Datuk Mohammad Hamdan Wahid clarified that the department had consulted with the Health Ministry and the Chemistry Department to ensure that the use of chemicals for public sanitation and disinfection in public places was in accordance with stipulated protocol.

In a WHO report, it stated that cleaning and disinfecting surfaces could reduce the risk of infection.

However, the Academy of Medicine of Malaysia in a statement on Thursday had highlighted the United States’ Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention’s guideline, which stated that “spraying cleaning products or disinfectants in outdoor areas such as on sidewalks, roads or groundcover is not necessary or recommended”.

The academy expressed its support for Dr Adeeba and stressed that strategies to fight against Covid-19 should be based on science, stressing that the government must prioritise Covid-19 interventions to help reduce the number of cases, as well as to reduce the burden on healthcare facilities and its workers.

It called for a whole-of-government effort to produce ventilation guidelines for all indoor space instead and noted that many commercial and residential buildings in the country would need updating to meet new standards.