A Critical Appraisal of COVID-19 in Malaysia and Beyond

Abstract

When the first report of COVID-19 appeared in December 2019 from Wuhan, China, the world unknowingly perceived this as another flu-like illness. Many were surprised at the extreme steps that China had subsequently taken to seal Wuhan from the rest of the world. However, by February 2020, the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, had spread so quickly across the globe that the World Health Organization officially declared COVID-19 a pandemic. COVID-19 is not the first pandemic the world has seen, so what makes it so unique in Malaysia, is discussed to avoid a future coronacoma.

Keywords: COVID-19; Malaysia; SARS-CoV-2; appraisal; medicine; technology.

Figure 1

Trajectory of the cumulative number of COVID-19 cases in a (a) linear scale and a (b) log scale. The increase in cumulative COVID-19 cases slowed between January 2020 and late February 2020. However, in early March 2020, the case trajectory in these five countries increased significantly 1(a). The increases were most stark from mid-March to 28 March 2020. The trend on the log-scale 1(b) indicates an exponential growth in cumulative cases for three countries—Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore—which was steeper between mid-January and mid-February and then reduced until early March. Overall, the log-scale 1(b) shows two trajectories: a lower trajectory (Brunei and Singapore) and a higher trajectory (Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia) (3)

Figure 2

(a) Trajectory for cumulative COVID-19-related deaths and (b) daily reported number of COVID-19-related deaths. Thailand reported its first fatality in February 2020 and other countries (except for Brunei) began to report their first fatalities in mid-March 2020. Indonesia has had the largest number of fatalities (70 as of 27 March 2020), and the lowest were in Singapore (two deaths) and Brunei (no deaths). All countries reported fluctuating fatality numbers (except for Singapore) (1)

Figure 3

Diagnostic coverage of various available tests for COVID-19 from the acute phase to the convalescent phase

Figure 4

Movement restriction is critical to battle the pandemic within healthcare system capacity (15)

Figure 5

The Academy of Sciences Malaysia with assistance from Ministry of Health and the Monash University Malaysia, are exploring 10 technologies that will drive many aspects of Malaysia’s socio-economy, including preparation for future pandemics (25)