PETALING JAYA: Efforts to protect high-risk groups must be in place should the government remove the mask mandate in enclosed areas, say health experts.
Based on the current infection status, the elderly and high-risk groups would be the ones most affected if the mask mandate were to be removed completely, said Prof Dr Moy Foong Ming, who is from Universiti Malaya’s Department of Social and Preventive Medicine.
The government, she said, should step up efforts to get the elderly and those in high-risk groups vaccinated and boosted.
She said infections among those in the 18-59 age group were mostly mild and did not require hospitalisation.
“Death happens predominantly among those aged 60 and above,” she said, noting that fatality rate was highest among the unvaccinated, followed by those who had taken two doses of the vaccine.
“Currently, the uptake of booster dose is only 71% for the first booster and 5% for second booster for the elderly (age 60 years and above).
“Based on the above, it seems like the elderly and the high-risk groups would be more affected if the mask mandate were to be removed. As such, the government should target this group so that they are well protected,” she said.
Last Friday, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said an announcement would be made soon on whether the face mask mandate in enclosed spaces would be withdrawn.
He was responding to a statement by the Malaysian Medical Association on Wednesday which urged the government to review its policy on the mandatory wearing of face masks in enclosed spaces, following a similar decision made by many other countries, including Singapore.
Prof Moy said the Health Ministry should have plans in place for various contingencies such as scaling up healthcare capacity and stepping up vaccination operations, or re-enforcing mask mandate when needed.
“The public must be educated on the need to mask up when cases surge or when new variants that are more lethal than the current one (Omicron), emerge,” she said.
She said the public should be well informed on what they should or should not do and be highly responsible when they are infected, even with mild symptoms.
“They should report to MySejahtera, get themselves isolated so that they don’t infect their family members, colleagues or friends.“They should put on their masks when they have flu-like symptoms even though they test negative because their viral load may be low and the test kit may not detect the virus in the first few days,” she said.
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia professor of public health expert Prof Dr Sharifa Ezat Wan Puteh is not too keen on the idea of withdrawing the mask mandate in enclosed areas.
She explained that many Malaysians had yet to get their booster dose and the presence of the new variant of concern BA4 and BA5 could pose higher risk especially to the elderly and those with high comorbidity.
“Though 84.2% of the population has completed two doses of the vaccine, the percentage of those who got their vaccination with three doses, including booster, are at a dismal 49.7%. I would prefer at least 70% to be boosted, then it can be considered ‘safe’.
“The new VOC BA4 and BA5 are in our population. They pose a risk to those in the high-risk populations such as the elderly, those with high comorbidity, if the infection is rife,” she said.
She added that masking up could also help prevent outbreaks such as influenza.
“I would prefer we wait a little longer before total ‘unmasking’ but if the government wants to proceed (with the removal of the mandate) like in many other countries, it is advisable for those in the high-risk group, including unvaccinated children, to continue wearing masks.
“Many of us may be walking about with asymptomatic infections and may unwittingly infect others,” she said.
Khairy told reporters yesterday that he was still receiving feedback from people about the easing of mask mandates.
“We have to prioritise the safety and health of the public before we finalise any decision as we will try to include as many people’s opinions as possible,” he said.
He added that regardless of the decision made, the public should continue to be cautious as Covid-19 is still deemed a public health emergency.
