LETTER | No one could have foreseen that the coronavirus would pose a detrimental scare to the economy, thus affecting the livelihood, basic income, and health of many Malaysians. Indeed, Malaysia faces greater challenges as the nation battles to survive the pandemic economically, socially, and in health.

At the initial stage, Malaysia has proven to handle the Covid-19 storm comparatively better and managed to flatten the curve. While the Malaysia Economic Monitor 2020 (World Bank Report) reported that significant policy support was in place, more is required to shelter those who needed it the most especially those in vulnerable households and businesses.

Then, the table turned as there was a drastic surge in Covid-19 cases, speculated to have originated from the Sabah election which was due to incoherent and incompetent policy. The continued spike in cases was also due to the lack of rapid testing, targeted approach for SOPs and slow vaccination rate. 

In June 2021, Bloomberg’s Covid Resilience Ranking noted a shift in Malaysia’s ranking from 16th to 51st out of 53 countries. Malaysia has lost the ability to build resilience towards normalisation.

At present moment, the focus should be for Covid-19 to be endemic as a recovery strategy for Malaysia. A plan must be formulated to achieve coexistence with the virus while boosting the economy yet without compromising health.

A new policy paper titled “From Pandemic to Endemic: Path Towards Normalization” authored by us highlights the background to Malaysia’s slow recovery, international endeavour towards an endemic and Malaysia’s need to realign its recovery strategies.

The transition from living in a pandemic to accepting Covid-19 as endemic is not an easy process. Many health experts and policy advisors have already provided suggestions on how Malaysia can exit the pandemic crisis to safely live with the virus. 

The policy paper by Bait Al-Amanah outlines recommendations that can further support and enhance the existing suggestions as well as guide Malaysia’s long-term recovery beyond this crisis.

The most immediate plan that should be a priority for the government is enhancing public health by strengthening the healthcare system. The Covid-19 outbreak had revealed the unreadiness of our healthcare facilities to cope with a rapidly infectious disease.

One strategy to improve this situation is through a public-partnership (PPP) approach between government and private hospitals to delegate mobility of medical staff and equipment. There should also be strong support for medical workers by ensuring permanent employment and benefits, so that their performance would be optimum.

The daily number of Covid-19 cases should be viewed differently. MOH data showed that more than 95 percent of the new cases are low-risk patients, who can undergo home quarantine without overwhelming the healthcare system. 

Instead of being alarmed by large figures every day, we should highlight parameters such as the number of high-risk cases, the capacity of healthcare facilities, and the number of Covid-related deaths. Other than that, Covid-19 should only be dealt with like endemic influenza.

The vaccination drive must be amped up to immunise as many people as possible against coronavirus and its variants. Groups such as school students, foreign workers, and refugees must also be inoculated because they are a significant part of our community. 

Other than vaccines, Malaysia should boost its development of medicines and pharmaceutical products as part of strengthening our health resilience in the long run.

Furthermore, the idea of living with the virus can be intimidating, especially for those who have experienced losses. Hence, there is a need to enhance the mental healthcare ecosystem, not only for post-Covid-19 patients, but also for cooped up citizens to recover mentally and to cohabitate with the virus in the new normal.

Besides health, we need to recalibrate our mindset and direction in handling the Covid-19 crisis. We must dismantle unnecessary lockdown policies, which are both ineffective and very costly to livelihoods. 

Instead, containment measures, if needed, should be based on scientific evidence. Substantially more important are clear communication, data transparency, and consistent trust between authorities and the public to ensure compliance to health and hygiene protocols, even without a lockdown.

Before reaching herd immunity, the economy should be reopened with proper regulations in place for fully vaccinated individuals. 

Those who are waiting for their vaccines should be given initiatives to empower themselves from home, so their potentials are not wasted. 

Ultimately, accepting Covid-19 as endemic is not easy, but it is not impossible. The key strategy moving forward is that recovery in health and economy should occur not at the expense of the other.

The writers are from Bait Al-Amanah, an independent research institute.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.