KUCHING, Feb 26 — Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii today urged Citrawarna Keluarga Malaysia 2022 attendees to comply with Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs) to prevent the event from turning into an ‘Omicron Festival’.

He was concerned the four-day event, which ends tomorrow, poses the threat of becoming a super-spreader event that may bring health risks especially to the vulnerable groups.

"My biggest concern of the Citrawarna Keluarga Malaysia 2022 is not just about the non-compliace of SOPs but how there are young children, who are most likely to be unvaccinated, present at the event itself.

"There are even pictures of children, and even adults, not wearing face masks even when in the crowd,” he lamented in a statement.

While he believed in the need to transition into an endemic phase, he opined the state was "not there yet” and people must not be reckless.

"Such an event will of course increase the risk of direct exposure to virus as SOP compliance is difficult to enforce — even with the assurance of federal Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Dato Sri Nancy Shukri herself who said that strict SOPs have been put in place for the programme to ensure public safety.

"We must not take for granted the severity of Covid-19 and Omicron, especially its effects on children especially the possibility of causing serious complications particularly Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C),” he said.

MIS-C is a condition where different tissues and organs become inflamed, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes and gastrointestinal organs and is the most severe form of Covid-19 in children and can be deadly, he elaborated.

Recently, Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah confirmed that patients below 12 years old admitted to hospitals due to Omicron have seen an upward trend, especially in February this year.

The MIS-C Malaysia Study Group recorded 174 cases of the syndrome, with 57 per cent involving children aged 5 to 11. Dr Noor Hisham said the study found seven deaths resulting from MIS-C, or four per cent of cases.

This is something concerning and should not be taken for granted, stressed Dr Yii.

"That is why I urge the government and organisers to rethink some of the programmes to ensure that proper SOPs can be followed, controlled and better enforced. Only programmes where crowd control can be done properly should be held. Strict SOPs is useless without proper enforcement and control.”

He added more enforcement officers should be engaged to ensure crowd control and SOP compliance is adhered to.

He also pointed out that children below 12 years old should not be allowed to attend such events and clear reminds must be given continuously during the event itself.

"Fact of the matter is, events with difficult SOP compliance control should be discouraged for the time being.

"On top of that, more must be done to increase the vaccination rate among children in Sarawak. For the past three weeks, about 34.7 per cent of the children population has received their vaccination.

"While it is encouraging, more can be done to help increase this rate and allay parents’ hesitancy to ensure our children are better protected,” he said.

Dr Yii also encouraged everyone to remain vigilant in view of the surge in Omicron cases, even in Sarawak.

"We are registering one of the highest infectivity rates in the country and if we are not careful, our healthcare facilities may be overwhelmed again due to the volume of cases caused by Omicron.

"Stay safe, wear a mask, avoid crowded places and protect your children. Covid-19 is not just an ‘ordinary flu’,” he said. — Borneo Post