Characteristics of COVID-19 epidemic and control measures to curb transmission in Malaysia

Ng, Chris Fook Sheng; Seposo, Xerxes; Moi, Meng Ling; Tajudin, Muhammad Abdul Basit Ahmad; Madaniyazi, Lina; Sahani, Maneesh

doi:10.1016/j.ijid.2020.10.027

Cited by 19 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…In Malaysia, however, the nationwide movement restriction order likely accounted for the lower proportion of travel-associated cases (10.5%). [21][22][23] In contrast, in Pakistan, despite publishing mitigation guidelines (National Action Plan for Corona Virus Disease [COVID-19] Pakistan 24 ), transmission in the form of local community spread of mostly asymptomatic cases was observed. 25 The presence of comorbidities was also greater in countries such as Pakistan (90%) and Indonesia (38%), compared with China (3%), Japan (10%), Singapore (13%), and Malaysia (21%).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative Analysis of Pediatric COVID-19 Infection in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Japan, and China

Wong

Abbas

Chuah

et al. 2021

The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

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There is a scarcity of data regarding coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection in children from southeast and south Asia. This study aims to identify risk factors for severe COVID-19 disease among children in the region. This is an observational study of children with COVID-19 infection in hospitals contributing data to the Pediatric Acute and Critical Care COVID-19 Registry of Asia. Laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases were included in this registry. The primary outcome was severity of COVID-19 infection as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) (mild, moderate, severe, or critical). Epidemiology, clinical and laboratory features, and outcomes of children with COVID-19 are described. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression models were used to identify risk factors for severe/critical disease. A total of 260 COVID-19 cases from eight hospitals across seven countries (China, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, and Pakistan) were included. The common clinical manifestations were similar across countries: fever (64%), cough (39%), and coryza (23%). Approximately 40% of children were asymptomatic, and overall mortality was 2.3%, with all deaths reported from India and Pakistan. Using the multivariable model, the infant age group, presence of comorbidities, and cough on presentation were associated with severe/critical COVID-19. This epidemiological study of pediatric COVID-19 infection demonstrated similar clinical presentations of COVID-19 in children across Asia. Risk factors for severe disease in children were age younger than 12 months, presence of comorbidities, and cough at presentation. Further studies are needed to determine whether differences in mortality are the result of genetic factors, cultural practices, or environmental exposures.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative Analysis of Pediatric COVID-19 Infection in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Japan, and China

Wong

Abbas

Chuah

et al. 2021

The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

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“…The effect of NPI on transmissibility has been observed in multiple different settings within this pandemic. [47,48] The R t has the potential to be used as an indicator for benchmarking the effectiveness of NPI. However, the variability of policy shifts and intensification of restrictions across time makes it difficult to isolate the signals of change in transmissibility due to individual NPI.…”

Section: Transmissionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[53,54] This trend is not specific to Malaysia, as the pandemic continues to disproportionately affect marginalised subpopulations across the globe. [42,48] Key to a comprehensive pandemic response is to identify inequities that exist within populations and target them, all the more urgent as inequities within a pandemic affect all of society.…”

Section: Incidence and Mortalitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Epidemiology of COVID-19 in Malaysia

Jayaraj

Rampal

et al. 2021

The Lancet Regional Health - Western Pacific

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Background: COVID-19 has rapidly spread across the globe. Critical to the control of COVID-19 is the characterisation of its epidemiology. Despite this, there has been a paucity of evidence from many parts of the world, including Malaysia. We aim to describe the epidemiology of COVID-19 in Malaysia to inform prevention and control policies better. Methods: Malaysian COVID-19 data was extracted from 16 March 2020 up to 31 May 2021. We estimated the following epidemiological indicators: 7-day incidence rates, 7-day mortality rates, case fatality rates, test positive ratios, testing rates and the time-varying reproduction number (Rt). Findings: Between 16 March 2020 and 31 May 2021, Malaysia has reported 571,901 cases and 2,796 deaths. Malaysia's average 7-day incidence rate was 26 • 6 reported infections per 10 0,0 0 0 population (95% CI: 17 • 8, 38 • 1). The average test positive ratio and testing rate were 4 • 3% (95% CI: 1 • 6, 10 • 2) and 0 • 8 tests per 1,0 0 0 population (95% CI: < 0 • 1, 3 • 7), respectively. The case fatality rates (CFR) was 0 • 6% (95% CI: < 0 • 1, 3 • 7). Among the 2,796 cases who died, 87 • 3% were ≥ 50 years. Interpretation: The public health response was successful in the suppression of COVID-19 transmission or the first half of 2020. However, a state election and outbreaks in institutionalised populations have been the catalyst for more significant community propagation. This rising community transmission has continued in 2021, leading to increased incidence and strained healthcare systems. Calibrating NPI based on epidemiological indicators remain critical for us to live with the virus. (243 words) Funding: This study is part of the COVID-19 Epidemiological Analysis and Strategies (CEASe) Project with funding from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (UM.0 0 0 0245/HGA.GV).

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“…A valuable lesson can also be learned from Indonesia's closest neighboring country-Malaysia. Through a study on COVID-19 control measures, Ng et al [8] summarized that the movement control order had managed to suppress the transmission within only 3 weeks after its implementation. Thus, despite difficulties in implementing physical distancing measures in the long run, this method is a critical and effective measure in curbing the spread of infection [9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mining of Opinions on COVID-19 Large-Scale Social Restrictions in Indonesia: Public Sentiment and Emotion Analysis on Online Media

Sakti¹,

Mohamad²

2021

J Med Internet Res

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Background One of the successful measures to curb COVID-19 spread in large populations is the implementation of a movement restriction order. Globally, it was observed that countries implementing strict movement control were more successful in controlling the spread of the virus as compared with those with less stringent measures. Society’s adherence to the movement control order has helped expedite the process to flatten the pandemic curve as seen in countries such as China and Malaysia. At the same time, there are countries facing challenges with society’s nonconformity toward movement restriction orders due to various claims such as human rights violations as well as sociocultural and economic issues. In Indonesia, society’s adherence to its large-scale social restrictions (LSSRs) order is also a challenge to achieve. Indonesia is regarded as among the worst in Southeast Asian countries in terms of managing the spread of COVID-19. It is proven by the increased number of daily confirmed cases and the total number of deaths, which was more than 6.21% (1351/21,745) of total active cases as of May 2020. Objective The aim of this study was to explore public sentiments and emotions toward the LSSR and identify issues, fear, and reluctance to observe this restriction among the Indonesian public. Methods This study adopts a sentiment analysis method with a supervised machine learning approach on COVID-19-related posts on selected media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube). The analysis was also performed on COVID-19-related news contained in more than 500 online news platforms recognized by the Indonesian Press Council. Social media posts and news originating from Indonesian online media between March 31 and May 31, 2020, were analyzed. Emotion analysis on Twitter platform was also performed to identify collective public emotions toward the LSSR. Results The study found that positive sentiment surpasses other sentiment categories by 51.84% (n=1,002,947) of the total data (N=1,934,596) collected via the search engine. Negative sentiment was recorded at 35.51% (686,892/1,934,596) and neutral sentiment at 12.65% (244,757/1,934,596). The analysis of Twitter posts also showed that the majority of public have the emotion of “trust” toward the LSSR. Conclusions Public sentiment toward the LSSR appeared to be positive despite doubts on government consistency in executing the LSSR. The emotion analysis also concluded that the majority of people believe in LSSR as the best method to break the chain of COVID-19 transmission. Overall, Indonesians showed trust and expressed hope toward the government’s ability to manage this current global health crisis and win against COVID-19.

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Characteristics of COVID-19 epidemic and control measures to curb transmission in Malaysia

Cited by 19 publications

References 9 publications

Comparative Analysis of Pediatric COVID-19 Infection in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Japan, and China

Comparative Analysis of Pediatric COVID-19 Infection in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Japan, and China

The Epidemiology of COVID-19 in Malaysia

Mining of Opinions on COVID-19 Large-Scale Social Restrictions in Indonesia: Public Sentiment and Emotion Analysis on Online Media

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