SHAH ALAM, Feb 12 — It is time for all countries, including Malaysia, to prepare for the possibility of wider transmission of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak, the World Health Organization said today.
Its regional director for the Western Pacific Dr Takeshi Kazai said the region was at a critical juncture with the virus now confirmed in many parts of the world.
"There are now reports of clusters of cases with no apparent link to China. The latest information suggests that the virus may be more transmissible than early data suggested. This does not mean that the virus will start spreading easily within Malaysia or elsewhere tomorrow, or perhaps ever – of course, we hope that it won't.
"We must be prepared in case there is a wider spread. This requires action today, because preparations take time, especially to ensure that the response reaches everyone in all parts of the country.
"In addition, we need to be ready to consider the possibility of closing schools or postponing mass gatherings, if necessary, to reduce opportunities for the virus to spread," Kazai said.
"WHO will continue to support Malaysia and all countries in their preparedness and response efforts. The current outbreak is a test for all of us, but by focusing not only on what confronts us today but planning ahead for tomorrow, taking steps to ensure preparedness efforts reach every corner of every country, together we will be able to limit the health, social and economic impacts."
He pointed out that countries must be ready to make a switch away from testing all suspected cases or tracing the contacts of every person who has the virus to instead applying the limited testing capacity to monitoring geographical spread and trends.
He said this information would affect decisions about the most appropriate public health response.
Kasai said in the case of wider community transmission, countries would need to ensure health facilities can focus on treating the most vulnerable and severe cases.
"This may mean planning to switch away from medically isolating or quarantining everyone who is infected to encouraging people with mild illness to stay at home to recover — so that healthcare facilities do not become overwhelmed.
"Steps must also be taken to ensure health facilities do not become places that amplify the virus’ spread, infecting staff and other patients," he said.
