Wednesday, 02 Sep 2020 10:50 AM MYT
The emergence of new clusters recently might make that conclusion seem reasonable. However, despite emerging complacency and the number of SOP violations being reported during the regular press conferences, general adherence and compliance among the public are actually high. Compare our situation to what is currently happening in some European countries and the United States.
The National Health and Morbidity Survey 2019 findings clearly show a major problem. One in three Malaysians have low health literacy, and are not likely to understand disease prevention activities, health promotion and healthy lifestyle practices. The second question is whether there is any evidence or study to support that increasing penalties and fines will actually result in an improvement in the level of compliance and adherence to SOPs, leading to a decrease in the number of cases.
Rather than come forward to seek treatment, people will likely hide their illness fearing repercussions.