The chart shows the number of Covid-19 tests and the positivity rate in Melaka for Aug 15 – Aug 28.
Are we testing enough in Melaka? I don’t think so.
The overall testing trend is rather stagnant although our positivity rate has been above 5% benchmark as per recommended by WHO. Even if we take our MOH’s benchmark of 10%, we’re still far behind in testing.
At one point, we hit 25.7% positivity rate on Aug 16 and 19.77% on Aug 21 in Melaka.
Health experts have constantly stressed the importance of adequate testing and tracing. We cannot just rely on vaccination alone and pray that Covid-19 will go away.
Covid-19 testing is something practical and affordable that can be done by the state government and local authorities. I have emphasised this many times before.
Yet, we have not heard of any proactive strategy or steps by the Melaka state government on this. In Selangor, they have conducted free community testing programmes through the ADUNs.
Here, we have a “tunggu dan lihat” state government. Covid-19 will not magically go away. There is still lots to be done.
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Chart: Data from the Ministry of Health, Graphic by CodeBlue
