Dataset Information

COVID-19 outbreak in Malaysia: Actions taken by the Malaysian government.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel pneumonia disease originating in Wuhan, was confirmed by the World Health Organization on January 12, 2020 before becoming an outbreak in all countries. OUTBREAK SITUATION:A stringent screening process at all airports in Malaysia was enforced after the first case outside China was reported in Thailand. Up to April 14, 2020, Malaysia had reported two waves of COVID-19 cases, with the first wave ending successfully within less than 2 months. In early March 2020, the second wave occurred, with worrying situations. ACTIONS TAKEN:The Government of Malaysia enforced a Movement Control Order starting on March 18, 2020 to break the chain of COVID-19. The media actively spread the hashtag #stayhome. Non-governmental organizations, as well as prison inmates, started to produce personal protective equipment for frontliners. Various organizations hosted fundraising events to provide essentials mainly to hospitals. A provisional hospital was set up and collaborations with healthcare service providers were granted, while additional laboratories were assigned to enhance the capabilities of the Ministry of Health. ECONOMIC DOWNTURN:An initial financial stimulus amounting to RM 20.0 billion was released in February 2020, before the highlighted PRIHATIN Package, amounting to RM 250 billion, was announced. The PRIHATIN Package has provided governmental support to society, covering people of various backgrounds from students and families to business owners.

SUBMITTER: Shah AUM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7264933 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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COVID-19 outbreak in Malaysia: Actions taken by the Malaysian government.

Shah Ain Umaira Md AUM Safri Syafiqah Nur Azrie SNA Thevadas Rathedevi R Noordin Nor Kamariah NK Rahman Azmawani Abd AA Sekawi Zamberi Z Ideris Aini A Sultan Mohamed Thariq Hameed MTH

International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases 20200602

<h4>Background</h4>Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel pneumonia disease originating in Wuhan, was confirmed by the World Health Organization on January 12, 2020 before becoming an outbreak in all countries.<h4>Outbreak situation</h4>A stringent screening process at all airports in Malaysia was enforced after the first case outside China was reported in Thailand. Up to April 14, 2020, Malaysia had reported two waves of COVID-19 cases, with the first wave ending successfully within less ...[more]

PMID: 32497808

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Project description:IntroductionPreviously estimated effects of social distancing do not account for changes in individual behavior before the implementation of stay-at-home policies or model this behavior in relation to the burden of disease. This study aims to assess the asynchrony between individual behavior and government stay-at-home orders, quantify the true impact of social distancing using mobility data, and explore the sociodemographic variables linked to variation in social distancing practices.MethodsThis study was a retrospective investigation that leveraged mobility data to quantify the time to behavioral change in relation to the initial presence of COVID-19 and the implementation of government stay-at-home orders. The impact of social distancing that accounts for both individual behavior and testing data was calculated using generalized mixed models. The role of sociodemographics in accounting for variation in social distancing behavior was modeled using a 10-fold cross-validated elastic net (linear machine learning model). Analysis was conducted in April?July 2020.ResultsAcross all the 1,124 counties included in this analysis, individuals began to socially distance at a median of 5 days (IQR=3-8) after 10 cumulative cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in their state, with state governments taking a median of 15 days (IQR=12-19) to enact stay-at-home orders. Overall, people began social distancing at a median of 12 days (IQR=8-17) before their state enacted stay-at-home orders. Of the 16 studies included in the review, 13 exclusively used government dates as a proxy for social distancing behavior, and none accounted for both testing and mobility. Using government stay-at-home dates as a proxy for social distancing (10.2% decrease in the number of daily cases) accounted for only 55% of the true impact of the intervention when compared with estimates using mobility (18.6% reduction). Using 10-fold cross-validation, 23 of 43 sociodemographic variables were significantly and independently predictive of variation in individual social distancing, with delays corresponding to an increase in a county's proportion of people without a high school diploma and proportion of racial and ethnic minorities.ConclusionsThis retrospective analysis of mobility patterns found that social distancing behavior occurred well before the onset of government stay-at-home dates. This asynchrony leads to the underestimation of the impact of social distancing. Sociodemographic characteristics associated with delays in social distancing can help explain the disproportionate case burden and mortality among vulnerable communities.

Project description:BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic placed considerable strain on critical care resources. How US hospitals responded to this crisis is unknown.Research questionWhat actions did US hospitals take to prepare for a potential surge in demand for critical care services in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic?Study design and methodsFrom September to November 2020, the chief nursing officers of a representative sample of US hospitals were surveyed regarding organizational actions taken to increase or maintain critical care capacity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Weighted proportions of hospitals for each potential action were calculated to create estimates across the entire population of US hospitals, accounting for both the sampling strategy and nonresponse. Also examined was whether the types of actions taken varied according to the cumulative regional incidence of COVID-19 cases.ResultsResponses were received from 169 of 540 surveyed US hospitals (response rate, 31.3%). Almost all hospitals canceled or postponed elective surgeries (96.7%) and nonsurgical procedures (94.8%). Few hospitals created new medical units in areas not typically dedicated to health care (12.9%), and almost none adopted triage protocols (5.6%) or protocols to connect multiple patients to a single ventilator (4.8%). Actions to increase or preserve ICU staff, including use of ICU telemedicine, were highly variable, without any single dominant strategy. Hospitals experiencing a higher incidence of COVID-19 did not consistently take different actions compared with hospitals facing lower incidence.InterpretationResponses of hospitals to the mass need for critical care services due to the COVID-19 pandemic were highly variable. Most hospitals canceled procedures to preserve ICU capacity and scaled up ICU capacity using existing clinical space and staffing. Future research linking hospital response to patient outcomes can inform planning for additional surges of this pandemic or other events in the future.

Dataset Information

COVID-19 outbreak in Malaysia: Actions taken by the Malaysian government.

Publications

COVID-19 outbreak in Malaysia: Actions taken by the Malaysian government.

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