Dzulkefly: What's the science behind 3-day quarantine for ministers?
Former health minister Dzulkefly Ahmad has asked for an explanation of the science behind a decision to allow ministers returning from official overseas trips to quarantine for a shorter time compared to ordinary citizens.
He noted the Health Ministry previously determined that the Covid-19 incubation is around a 10-day time frame.
"So, how did the Health Ministry arrive at the three-day...
Former health minister Dzulkefly Ahmad has asked for an explanation of the science behind a decision to allow ministers returning from official overseas trips to quarantine for a shorter time compared to ordinary citizens.
He noted that the Health Ministry previously determined the Covid-19 incubation was around a 10-day time frame.
"So, how did the Health Ministry arrive at the three-day time frame for quarantine?
"What is the science behind such an unprecedented move? Who is the authority that provided for such a counter-intuitive measure in public health and infectious disease control?" he said in a statement today.
Dzulkefly, a toxicologist by training, said that it was extremely irresponsible to bend the rules for the powers that be.
He said this in response to Health Minister Dr Adham Baba's order to reduce the quarantine period of ministers returning from official trips abroad to three days instead of 10.
Adham, a general practitioner by training, had defended the decision, stating that the three-day quarantine will only apply if ministers strictly follow a "bubble itinerary".
"Each cabinet minister must request approval from the prime minister and the cabinet before travelling abroad. Only a strict bubble itinerary can be allowed for this purpose.
"I will evaluate, and if they fail to follow a bubble working visit itinerary, then we go for 10 days. That's clear," he was quoted as saying by CodeBlue.
Adham added that officers in the ministers' delegation must still quarantine for the full 10 days.
It should be noted that regardless of the quarantine rules, most countries already impose strict itineraries during the pandemic.
For example, the Malaysia-Singapore travel bubble requires business travellers to provide itineraries and to abide by them strictly.
However, Singapore suspended the travel bubble with Malaysia this month after Covid-19 cases in the latter spiralled.
Risking lives of others
Dzulkefly questioned if becoming a minister comes with greater immunity to the SARS CoV-2 virus.
The Kuala Selangor MP said leeway could only be given if someone had been vaccinated, but none of the ministers has received the Covid-19 vaccine which will only arrive at the end of the month.
"Unless ministers are all vaccinated (of whom none is), they actually risk the lives of others with the seven days of freedom.
"Furthermore, the fact that the majority are in the high-risk group (over 60 years old) and some with pre-existing health diseases like hypertension and diabetes, they risk the lives of others around them such as their families, staff and public, as much as they are a health hazard to themselves," he said.
Dzulkefly added that the order undermined public confidence and also proper quarantine messaging and control measures.
Meanwhile, former deputy health minister Lee Boon Chye said ministers could still develop Covid-19 even if the initial tests were negative in the first three days.
"Symptoms could develop after a week, and they could become infectious by the fifth day.
"If the quarantine is only for three days, they risk starting a cluster among ministers who interact with the public a lot," said Lee, who is also a cardiologist.
The Gopeng MP added that if the government constantly asked people to work from home, there was no reason why ministers couldn't do the same.
Meanwhile, Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii, urged the Perikatan Nasional Plus government not to make rules on Covid-19 based on political whims and fancy.
"Every decision especially to curb a dangerous infectious disease must be based on proper science and data," he said.
Cost of abandoning science
Yii, who is also a doctor by training, shared the view that the ministers could start developing Covid-19 symptoms after the quarantine period due to the longer incubation time.
"This decision not only shows double standards when it comes to Covid-19 enforcement but more importantly, it potentially puts the lives of the public in danger, especially when the nature of the job requires ministers to meet many people and even have public events," he said.
He added that Adham was not solely responsible for the order as it is a matter of collective responsibility by the cabinet.
The fact the order was made after Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin returned from his official trip to Indonesia was not a coincidence, Yii said.
"The experiences of countries around the world show that Covid-19 outcomes are worse when science and public health become subservient to politics."
He said that the order did not gel well with the government's move to declare a state of emergency and suspend Parliament on the grounds that tougher measures were needed to curb the Covid-19 pandemic.
"In other countries, ministers resign due to Covid-19 standard operating procedures breach. In Malaysia, ministers change infectious disease laws to allow such breach for themselves," added Yii, who also has a law degree.
The DAP lawmaker urged the government to make decisions based on science and data, pointing out how the Covid-19 outbreak spread from Sabah to the rest of the country when these principles were not followed.
As Covid-19 was raging in Sabah in September last year, the government resisted calls to impose a 14-day quarantine rule on people travelling from Sabah to other states.
Instead, it allowed returnees to end quarantine as soon as they tested negative for the virus.
This helped the virus spread nationwide, and by Jan 13, the country was back under another movement control order.
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