News Forum - Malaysia lifts travel ban on eight African countries

[Thaiger]

Malaysia lifted its travel ban on eight South African countries that were among the first to identify the Omicron strain of the coronavirus, citing its global spread. The move follows Singapore, which recently lifted its travel ban on 10 African countries. Health minister Khairy Jamaluddin told reporters yesterday that officials would rush booster vaccines as Omicron is spreading very fast, and a total of 306 out of 366 samples were taken from travellers who tested positive for the Covid-19 upon arrival last week were found to be suspected Omicron cases. “We’re still waiting for whole-genome sequencing data to confirm.” Despite […]

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[Jason]

This isn't surprising given Singapore's ban lifting and that both countries have cross border agreements. The bottom line is that "it's like shutting the gate after the horse has bolted". Omicron, has escaped and is spreading exponentially. Banning African nations, where Omicron began is pointless. We can only hope that Omicron proves to be a last gasp for Covid. It does mean holding our nerve as it spreads so quickly. In my own state we had one or two cases per day. With open borders we now have 1500 cases in one day. Elimination is no longer an option. I think inevitably, Thailand will be overrun with Omicron. But it might vanish, just as quickly as it appeared. That's how the Spanish Flu, eventually disappeared. We can only hope.

[Jason]

I pointed this out about 12 months ago to media in Australia, who took no notice. The big thing right now is the availability of rapid antigen tests with a high standard of accuracy. What we have needed to know, all along is, who has Covid and who doesn't. So that those who test negative can get on with life and those who test positive can get the support and help they need. While PCR tests are the gold standard and are great to check that a rapid antigen positive test has accurately identified a positive case, it's too slow as a mass form of testing. Interestingly, that's what is happening in my country right now and is about to happen in Thailand. The PCR testing regime will soon be overwhelmed as Omicron spreads in Thailand. So The Thai government should stock up on rapid antigen test kits. It should also use rapid antigen tests for tourists and only use PCR to verify a positive result. This would save the tourism industry from turning away the bulk of tourists who are Covid free. 

[HiuMak]

19 hours ago, Jason said:

This isn't surprising given Singapore's ban lifting and that both countries have cross border agreements. The bottom line is that "it's like shutting the gate after the horse has bolted". Omicron, has escaped and is spreading exponentially. Banning African nations, where Omicron began is pointless. We can only hope that Omicron proves to be a last gasp for Covid. It does mean holding our nerve as it spreads so quickly. In my own state we had one or two cases per day. With open borders we now have 1500 cases in one day. Elimination is no longer an option. I think inevitably, Thailand will be overrun with Omicron. But it might vanish, just as quickly as it appeared. That's how the Spanish Flu, eventually disappeared. We can only hope.

shadow of Singapore

[Jason]

Yeh nah...as we say where I come from