ABSTRACT
Purpose - The paper highlights the process-handling during the Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO) in combating pandemic COVID-19 in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach - Malaysia first issued an EMCO following a cluster that involved a religious gathering. The EMCO was issued to lockdown the area, undertake screening, treat positive cases and quarantine their close contacts. Active case detection and mass sampling were the main activities involving the population in both zones. Findings - One hundred ninety-three confirmed COVID-19 cases were identified from the total population of 2,599. Of these cases, 99.5% were Malaysians, 31.7% were aged >60 years and all four deaths (Case Fatality Rate, 2.1%) were elderly people with comorbidities. One hundred and one cases (52.3%) were asymptomatic, of which 77 (77%) were detected during mass sampling. The risk factors contributing to the outbreak were contacts that had attended the religious gathering, regular mosque congregants, wedding ceremony attendees and close household contacts. Malaysia implemented an effective measure in the form of the EMCO to contain the COVID-19 outbreak, where the last cases were reported 16 days before the EMCO was lifted. Originality/value - The residents' compliance and inter-agency cooperation were essential elements to the success of the EMCO. A targeted approach using an EMCO should be implemented in a future pandemic.
ABSTRACT
A novel coronavirus, COVID-19 is responsible for the current outbreak of pneumonia. As of 16 September 2021, a total of 2,049,750 COVID-19 cases were recorded in Malaysia. In this study, we aimed to describe a cluster of COVID-19 cases among non-clinical staff in a teaching hospital in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia. We obtained epidemiological and clinical data from patients with confirmed COVID-19, via phone interviews and patient medical records. We performed chronological mapping of the cases to identify the possible period, mode of transmission, and cluster pattern. Three laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases were identified from the teaching hospital cluster. These three cases were linked epidemiologically to the religious gathering cluster in Malaysia. Seventy-four close contacts consisting of teaching hospital staff were quarantined. The median incubation period was four days (IQR 1-7). The need for intensified surveillance and a high level of alertness is vital to minimise the risk of widespread transmission in Malaysia. © 2022. IIUM Medical Journal Malaysia. All Rights Reserved.
ABSTRACT
Purpose The sudden pandemic of COVID-19 has caused disruptive innovation in all areas of business including education. Despite the educators' and students' acceptance and readiness in the new normal, the traditional face-to-face (FTF) public speaking has been shifted to online courses to suit the current needs. This study aims to examine whether there were differences between online and FTF pubic speaking in the students' anxiety level, speech performance, as well as their perceptions of the challenges in the implementation of online public speaking courses as a potential to disruptive innovation. Design/methodology/approach This pilot study was a mixed method research that involved a purposive sampling of two groups of 39 students in higher education. The instruments used were questionnaires of self-report anxiety, speech performance test and observation. Findings The findings show that the students preferred the traditional FTF rather than the online mode for public speaking courses. The challenges of internet connection and the lack of a live audience were their main concerns in online public speaking. It also provides a potential for disruptive innovation that could take into consideration of a live audience in university online courses. Originality/value This study provides the potential of public speaking course as a disruptive innovation. This brings implications for the innovators, marketers and educators to think of the online courses/programmes that can be best implemented while embracing the changes and the new normal of COVID-19 brings for student learning.
ABSTRACT
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the 2019-20 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak a pandemic on 11th of March 2020. The Ministry of Health, Malaysia has made preparations for the involvement of all government hospitals, including some teaching hospitals. This report elaborates and discusses the early establishment of the Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre (HCTM CPRC), highlighting how teaching hospitals function in handling the clinical and epidemiological management of COVID-19 among hospital staff. The setting comprises of four critical functions of the HCTM CPRC, namely case investigation, close contact tracing, surveillance for data reporting and risk communication. This report highlighted that a CPRC in teaching hospitals benefits not only the patients and the hospital administration but also all hospital staff, especially in managing COVID-19 pandemic emergency crisis. © 2021 Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. All rights reserved.