The burden of preventing infections will then be shifted from the government to the public themselves.
The Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy and the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) said SOP compliance would be key to prevent a further spread of the virus when treating patients from home.
Galen Centre CEO Azrul Mohd Khalib said the key to mitigating the pandemic has always been in ensuring that people were well-informed to protect themselves and their communities.
“Ensuring that people who are positive but asymptomatic adhere to quarantine and SOPs is essential since placement in quarantine facilities is no longer possible.
“We will face the same challenges that countries like the United States and the United Kingdom are facing, where some individuals will break quarantine or not adhere to SOPs,” he told FMT.
He said Malaysians could not just depend on government measures but should take the initiative and put in place sanitation protocols at the workplace, in schools and even homes, besides following SOPs.
“In homes and family gatherings, there is often nothing that reduces the possibility of infection. People behave as if being among friends and family members does not require protection from disease.
“Frequent hand washing, sanitising and mask-wearing must be practised even in those situations, regardless of how awkward it may be. We are in the third wave but we are behaving as if the public health emergency is over.”
MMA president Dr Subramaniam Muniandy said patients being treated at home must be regularly checked on by the authorities, adding that a proper system to monitor them needed to be put in place.
He warned that home treatment may not suit some patients, taking into account factors such as small-sized homes or a high number of occupants, saying the health ministry must determine the risk level.
“As Covid-19 cases are on the rise, Putrajaya should look into increasing the number of quarantine centres. Stricter penalties may also be needed to ensure these patients do not flout the home quarantine.
“Restaurants, shopping malls and public places are also becoming overcrowded. Heavier fines or penalties may be needed to be imposed for flouting SOPs,” he told FMT.
With our without the vaccines, he said the reality was that the virus is likely to be here for most of 2021, and even beyond, adding that life must go.
“If there is strict discipline, schools, workplaces and other public places can remain open. It’s possible but all must comply. If people are worried about their jobs, the economy and cases rising daily, they should be taking precautions and adhering to SOPs.”
Azrul said there were no shortcuts to encouraging SOP compliance and people needed to be provided with accurate education and information. Malaysia, he added, had “under-invested” in health literacy for decades.
“People cannot consistently comply when they do not understand. Punishing them for this would be unjust and unfair. Some examples of that are when our own politicians, who generally have low health literacy, have themselves publicly flouted SOPs.
“You cannot punish the public while letting off politicians, members of the government and civil servants,” he said.
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