Dr Kelvin Yii said while the vaccination rate in Sarawak is commendable and statistics have shown that the death rate has also decreased, likely due to the vaccination, it does not mean those vaccinated cannot carry the virus and be a conduit to spread the disease to others. – File photo
KUCHING (Aug 12): Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) and Ministry of Health (MoH) must ramp up testing in Sarawak on top of the on-going vaccination programme to properly control the spread of the disease and protect high risk groups, says Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii.
He said while the vaccination rate in Sarawak is commendable and statistics have shown that the death rate has also decreased, likely due to the vaccination, it does not mean those vaccinated cannot carry the virus and be a conduit to spread the disease to others.
“This is especially so for the yet to be vaccinated community including our children, and also those who may be vaccine resistant.
“It is even more pertinent with the outbreak of the Delta variant and the surge of positive cases in the state, and if not properly controlled may even mutate especially among the unvaccinated community.
“That is why we cannot put all eggs into the vaccination basket and neglect other fundamental infectious disease control measures including adequate testing and quick isolation,” he said in a statement yesterday.
He added that yesterday’s (Aug 10) figures whereby 31 per cent or 260 out of 836 positive cases who were below 18 years old is worrying. The positive rate in Sarawak was 16.2 per cent, and the day before was 12.7 per cent.
“The average positive rate for the past week is13.4 per cent, which is more than double the recommended rate by the World Health Organisation (WHO) of 5 per cent.
“While I believe vaccinating children is an important step we need to take but controlling the pandemic in the community is another.
“If we are not testing enough, we will not isolate fast enough, and the disease will continue to spread in the community,” he said.
He also said this is the very reason why the government must be committed to the National Testing Plan (NTP), which include large scale implementation of the Find, Test, Trace, Isolate and Support (FTTIS) methodology to contain the virus, and reduce positive rate to below 5 per cent as proposed in the National Recovery Plan (NRP).
“This mass testing plan should not be for the MoH to execute alone, but should include all stakeholders including private hospitals, private clinics, factories, workplaces and individuals self-testing at home.
“The government must subsidise test-kits to make it affordable and accessible for all, and come up with a clear advisory for their usage including what to do after and incentivise them to report once there is a positive,” he said.