KUCHING: The government and relevant authorities have been urged to improve data transparency in COVID-19 management in releasing the number of daily cases as well as detected clusters in Sarawak.
Bandar Kuching Member of Parliament (MP) Dr Kelvin Yii said this was not to instil fear or create panic, but to keep the public informed as well as serve as a reminder that everyone should not take things for granted, especially during this Omicron wave.
He said there was a sharp increase from 442 cases on Monday (Feb 28) to 1,248 cases the next day (March 1), which was more than 50 per cent, and it continued to rise to 1,357 cases yesterday. However, no new cluster is detected.
“This means the public have no idea what kind of activities or locations contributed to the increase, therefore, unable to make the informed decision to protect themselves or serve as a reminder not to let our guards down in those locations or activities,” he said.
“One of the main concerns among the public was how many positive cases were detected from the recently concluded Citrawarna Keluarga Malaysia programme at Kuching Waterfront, and if there’s any cluster linked to the four-day-carnival,” he added.
Dr Yii said it was wrong to assume that Omicron was milder as it is still dangerous, especially for the high risk groups including elderly and unvaccinated individuals.
He noted that there was also an increase in hospitalisation, death and brought-in-dead cases throughout the country.
“That is why we need greater data transparency when it comes to cluster declaration as it is important – for the public to make informed choices and to reduce the risk of being infected by the virus even when we have started to reopen more economy activities and borders progressively,” he said.
Dr Yii also urged the government to ensure adequate COVID-19 self-testing kits in the market and avoid price increase due to stock shortage.
Apart from that, the government must find ways to encourage and incentivise the public to report their self-test results on MySejahtera to ensure they get a better picture of cases in the different locations as well as to avoid under-reporting in COVID-19 daily cases.
He urged the government to postpone any activities or events where SOP compliance is hard to control or enforced, risking it to be a super-spreader event.
Meanwhile, the public must monitor their elderly families; high risk groups, and bring them for medical attention as soon as they display any COVID-19 symptoms.
“All the eligible recipients must proceed to get their booster dose to ensure they have better protection against the virus.
“While I believe in the need to transit to the endemic phase, it should not come at the cost of lives – that could be prevented. We are not there yet, and we must not be reckless.
“That is why the fundamentals of data transparency are still important to build trust between the government and people as we tackle this pandemic and open the economy safely and sustainably,” he added.
