I show strong concerns with level of non-compliance of Covid-19 SOP at the Citrawarna Keluarga Malaysia 2022 event currently being held at the Kuching Waterfront which will of course risk this event to be a super-spreader event that may bring health risk especially to the vulnerable groups especially children.
We do not want this event instead to be a “Omicron Festival”
While I believe in the need to transition into endemicity, but we are not there yet, and we must not be reckless.
Such an event will of course increase the risk of direct exposure to virus as SOP compliance is difficult to enforce, even with the assurance of the Minister YB Nancy Shukri herself who said that Strict SOPs have been put in place for the ongoing Keluarga Malaysia Citrawarna programme at the Kuching Waterfront to ensure public safety.
My biggest concern of the current Citrawarna Keluarga Malaysia 2022 is not just about the non-compliance of SOPs, but how there are young children who are most likely to be unvaccinated, present at the event itself.
There are even pictures of children and even adults not wearing mask even when in the crowd.
We must not take for granted the severity of Covid-19 and Omicron especially its affects on children especially the possibility of causing
serious complications, particularly Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C).
MIS-C is a condition where different tissues and organs become inflamed, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, and gastrointestinal organs — is the most severe form of Covid-19 in children and can be deadly.
Last Saturday, Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah confirmed that patients below 12-years-old admitted to hospitals have seen an upward trend especially in February 2022, due to Omicron.
The MIS-C Malaysia Study Group recorded 174 cases of the syndrome, with 57 per cent involving children aged 5 to 11. He said the study found seven deaths resulting from MIS-C, or four per cent of cases.
This is something concerning and should not be taken for granted.
That is why i urge the government and organisers to rethink some of the programmes to ensure that proper SOPs can be followed, controlled and better enforced. Only programs where crowd control can be done properly should be held. Strict SOPs is useless without proper enforcement and control.
More enforcement officers should be engaged to ensure crowd control and SOP compliance is adhered to.
Children below 12 years shouldn’t be allowed to attend such events and clear reminders must be given continuously during the event itself. Fact of matter, events with difficult SOP-compliance control should be discouraged at the time being.
On top of that, more must be done to increase the rate of vaccination among children in Sarawak. For the past 3 weeks, about 34.7% of children population has received their vaccination. While it is encouraging, more can be done to help increase this rate and allays hesitancy of parents to ensure our children are better protected.
I strongly encourage all to remain vigilant in view of the surge of Omicron cases even here in Sarawak. We are registering one of the highest infectivity rate (Rt) in the country, and if not careful, our healthcare facilities may be overwhelmed again due to the volume of cases caused by Omicron.
Stay safe, wear a mask, avoid crowded places and protect your children.
Covid-19 is not just an ordinary flu.