Govt urged to take proactive steps at transport hubs against monkeypox threat

Gerakan today urged the government to take proactive measures against the possibility of a monkeypox outbreak in the country, saying Malaysia cannot afford to close its borders to international travellers anymore.

Gerakan vice-president Baljit Singh said although the country did not appear to be facing any serious threat, the authorities should be on guard against “any eventuality”.

“Our international airports and other public transport handling tourists need to be armed with the right protocols for diagnosis, treatment and quarantine if and when a positive case is confirmed,” he said.

“The last thing we need now is to further burden our healthcare system and economy which is barely recovering from the onslaught of Covid-19 over the past two years.”

Monkeypox is a rare disease originating in Africa which usually clears up on its own. It was detected in recent weeks in countries in Europe and North America.

The health ministry said yesterday that it had yet to receive any notification of monkeypox infection in the country despite a video that recently went viral.

Baljit said while health experts had advised those travelling abroad to take the chickenpox vaccine which is reportedly 85% effective against monkeypox, there had been no announcement on whether hospitals in the country had an adequate supply.

“Although it is reported that the monkeypox disease may be rarely fatal to humans, Malaysia should not waste time in introducing precautions and restrictions to limit the spread of this outbreak,” he said in a statement, warning that this could be “yet another explosive situation”.