Fact Check : Malaysia Is Entering 3rd Wave Of COVID-19?

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Is Malaysia entering the 3rd wave of COVID-19 infections? That’s what a new viral message on social media is warning!

Find out what the viral message is claiming, and what the facts really are!

 

Claim : Malaysia Is Entering 3rd Wave Of COVID-19!

A viral message is spreading on social media, claiming that Malaysia is officially experiencing the 3rd wave of COVID-19 infections.

Fact Check : Malaysia Is Entering 3rd Wave Of COVID-19?

Here is the original message in Bahasa Malaysia, and our English translation :

TERKINI | Malaysia digariskan sebagai gelombang ke-3 Covid-19 berikutan kenaikkan kes tempatan dalam masa 1 minggu.

Olah itu sekiranya kes tempatan naik lagi dan kes aktif meningkat kupada 100+ maka Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia tidak akan teragak-agak untuk menyuruh kerajaan menarik balik Perintah Kawalan Pergerakan Pemulihan (PKPP) dan akan melaksanakan semula Perintah Kawalan Pergerakan (PKP).

Sehubungan itu, KKM dan MKN menyarankan agar seluruh warga Malaysia tidak alpa dan leka sentiasa mematuhi SOP dan Perintah Kawalan Pergerakan Pemulihan (PKPP) sehingga 31 Ogos ini.

Rakyat diminta menjarakkan diri sejauh 1 meter, jauh dari tempat sesak, memakai pelitup muka, tidak membawa golongan berisiko di tempat awam dan kerap cuci tangan.

LATEST | Malaysia was classified as [entering] the 3rd wave of Covid-19 following the increase in local cases in the last 1 week.

If the local cases go up again and active cases increase to 100+ then the Ministry of Health Malaysia will not hesitate to ask the government to withdraw the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) and will re-implement the Movement Control Order (MCO).

In this regard, MOH and NSC recommend that all Malaysians be vigilant and always comply with the SOP and the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) requirements until 31 August.

Citizens are asked to distance themselves by 1 meter, keep away from crowded places, wear face masks, not bring the vulnerable to public places, and wash their hands often.

 

Malaysia Is Entering 3rd Wave Of COVID-19? Not Quite…

While the advice in the viral message is correct, the rest of it is not quite correct. Let’s examine the facts…

Fact #1 : The MOH Calls The Viral Message False

The Ministry of Health Malaysia labels the viral message as false.

Although they did not state why, it is probably because they did not ask the government to reinstate the stricter Movement Control Order.

Malaysia COVID-19 third wave fake

Fact #2 : Malaysia Is Not Yet In A Third Wave Of COVID-19 Infections

Despite the recent increases in new cases, Malaysia is not yet in the third wave of COVID-19 infections.

That said, the Ministry of Health Malaysia has expressed concerns about the recent increases, which could portend a third wave if not addressed immediately.

The Malaysian Director General of Health, Datuk Seri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, shared earlier today the latest predictive modelling of COVID-19 infections in Malaysia.

Malaysia COVID-19 modelIt shows how Malaysia could experience a third wave of COVID-19 infections, if people in Malaysia do not continue to follow the SOP.

He pointed out that the number of active cases dropped to just 63 on 9 July 2020, but has since increased to over 100 cases on 19 July.

While this does not mean Malaysia is experiencing a third wave of infections right now, that may be the case if Malaysian residents (both citizens and foreigners alike) do not continue to keep safe by :

Fact #3 : Foreign Cases Are A Concern

Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah also pointed out that three of the 13 new COVID-19 clusters that caused local infections originated from imported cases – people returning from overseas, and allowed to self-quarantine.

  • Novgorod PUI Cluster
  • Shirala PUI Cluster
  • Pitakwa PUI Cluster

A fourth “imported” cluster – the Jupiter cluster – did not lead to local infections because the infections were limited to the docked ship.

To prevent imported cases from creating new local infection clusters, the Malaysian government announced that self-quarantine would no longer be permitted.

Beginning 24 July 2020, anyone entering Malaysia from abroad, whether they are citizens of foreigners, must undergo a compulsory 14-day quarantine at official Quarantine Facilities.

 

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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

 

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