Position Paper on COVID-19

Prepared by: ASM Special Interest Group on COVID-19

Position Paper on COVID-19

©Academy of Sciences Malaysia 2021

Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

Position Paper on COVID-19 / Prepared by: ASM Special Interest Group on COVID-19.

Mode of access: Internet eISBN 978-983-2915-85-0

1. COVID-19 (Disease).

2. COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020-.

3. Government publications--Malaysia.

4. Electronic books.

I. ASM Special Interest Group on COVID-19.

616.24144

All Rights Reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior permission in writing from the Academy of Sciences Malaysia.

Academy of Sciences Malaysia

Level 20, West Wing, MATRADE Tower

Jalan Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah off Jalan Tuanku Abdul Halim

50480 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus resulted in significant changes at a massive scale to the world we live in today. In curbing the rapid infectivity of this highly adaptable virus, governments and societies across the world employed various measures and outlined strategies that required undivided commitment from all.

In line with the Academy of Sciences Malaysia’s (ASM) mandate in providing the best scientific advice and advocacy that is independent, credible, relevant, and timely, we responded by establishing a Special Interest Group (SIG) on COVID-19. This SIG was established in the early 2020 following the heightened discussion regarding an outbreak of a contagious disease of zoonotic origin at the time. The SIG embarked on a twopronged initiative to address the short- as well as the long-term need of the nation with regards to addressing the COVID-19 pandemic.

The SIG’s short-term goal was to keep the society aware of the aetiology of COVID-19. The SIG, through ASM, published several factsheets on COVID-19 covering aspects including the virus’ characteristics, epidemiology, diagnostics, therapeutics, disinfection, and development of vaccines to improve public knowledge to stem the tide of mis-, mal- and dis-information. As the public gained access to accurate yet easy to digest information on COVID-19, they became more informed and amenable to measures introduced by the Government in curbing the spread of the virus as observed from adherence to COVID-19 standard operating procedures (SOP) and the full vaccination of 97.6% adults in Malaysia by December 2021.

As a long-term measure, the SIG embarked on preparing this Position Paper on COVID-19 which discusses Malaysia’s preparedness and readiness towards the outbreak of infectious diseases by providing an in-depth case study of COVID-19 spread and its management in Malaysia. Several recommendations on potential strategic interventions have been put forward for consideration to improve our state of readiness for future outbreaks. As we transition towards the endemic phase of COVID-19, newer challenges will arise, and preparedness, quick thinking, and agile decision-making capabilities shall remain important.

The insights presented by this paper shall serve as a precursor to ASM’s journey to mainstream Planetary Health, which recognises the inextricable relationship between flourishing natural systems and resources to human health and the health of our planet.

Several key initiatives were undertaken by ASM in tandem with the development of this Position Paper to complement national response in addressing the pandemic and recovery phase. These included the development of 11 factsheets and the National Immunisation Plan in collaboration with the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation and the Ministry of Health Malaysia, leveraging the knowledge and experience of members of this SIG among others in ASM’s vast Expert Network.

On behalf of ASM, I would like to thank all ministries, agencies, industry partners, civil society organisations, professional bodies, and the numerous individuals who have contributed their experiences and ideas in making this study possible. Warmest congratulations and a big thank you to the SIG on COVID-19 members led by Professor Dr Rosnah Mohd Zain FASc and the subgroup leaders: Professor Datuk Dr Lokman Hakim Sulaiman FASc on Malaysia’s Preparedness for Outbreak of Infectious Diseases Sub-group, Professor Dato’ Dr Syed Mohamed Aljunid FASc on the Post-Pandemic Analysis Sub-group, as well as Professor Datin Dr Sameem Abdul Kareem on the Application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Big Data Analytics (BDA) Sub-group. Sincerest appreciation to all sub-group members and the ASM Management for the unrelenting hard work and commitment in producing this report.

Finally, I hope that this position paper will benefit the whole-of-nation and whole-of-society approach in the continuous battle against COVID-19 and serve as one of the building blocks in the restoration and preservation of our Planetary Health.

Dr Rosnah Mohd Zain FASc Chairperson ASM Special Interest Group on COVID-19

The COVID-19 crisis poses a massive challenge for the world. Almost everyone and everything are affected. While it was primarily a health crisis to begin with, its impact is now evident across various social and economic sectors, as well as industries. The global impact of COVID-19 pandemic have been expected to be immense and long-lasting . Currently, coming into the third year of the pandemic, country leaders are still taking stock of how and when the crippling effect of the SARS-CoV-2 virus pandemic will end.

It has been emphasised that preparedness for the next epidemic or pandemic pathogen should not begin when the current emergency is over (COVID-19 Health Operations and Technical Lead, Emerging Diseases and Zoonoses Unit Head, Health Emergencies Programme, World Health Organisation - Nature Medicine 2021) . Therefore, as early as March 2020, when the pandemic was first declared, in realising the ever-evolving nature of the COVID-19 pandemic at that time, Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM) has agreed that efforts should be focused on addressing the immediate concerns of the outbreak through the production of a series of fact sheets. Furthermore, with the availability of the group of ASM experts, an ASM Special Interest Group (SIG) on COVID-19 was formed with the aim of assisting the Malaysian Government in addressing issues relating to the current and future outbreak. Therefore, the SIG was tasked to provide responses and opinions which are backed by facts which could then be communicated to the ministry, and thus assisting them in addressing the overwhelming public response on COVID-19.

The SIG set out to gather accurate information and data regarding COVID-19 from various sectors and relevant ministries/government agencies for the purpose of communication to the public, to support efforts of raising their knowledge and awareness on the disease, as well as stemming the spread of misinformation. Accordingly, the objective of the SIG on COVID-19 is to identify good practices, lessons learned, as well as gaps in preparedness and response to COVID-19 spread and management in Malaysia, i.e.:

• To assess Malaysia’s state of readiness in tackling infectious disease outbreak through an in-depth case study of COVID-19 spread and management in Malaysia

• To discuss and make recommendations on potential strategic interventions that would allow for improved state of readiness in Malaysia for episodes of infectious disease outbreaks in the future

This position paper would not materialise without the support and commitment of many of the experts from ASM Fellows, the Associate Members, the Young Scientist Network, and experts from non-ASM experts. My gratitude goes to all the Head of the Task Forces and their team members for all their dedication and hard work, which have enabled us to come up with this report. It is hoped that this report will give an insight into the considerations on the planning efforts by all relevant authorities in effectively controlling this current COVID-19 or any other future outbreak.