PETALING JAYA: In light of the rising number of Covid-19 cases after the Hari Raya festivities, members of the public have been urged to activate the MySJ Trace feature on their MySejahtera app to facilitate contact tracing.
Universiti Malaya social and preventive medicine head Dr Victor Hoe said MySJ Trace is the best way to track and trace close contacts, considering that the usage of MySejahtera nationwide has plunged by 97% since the government lifted its mandatory use two weeks ago to check in at premises.
The number of unique accounts also dropped 93.9%, with only 442,318 recorded on May 14, compared with 7,281,285 unique users who logged in on April 30.
Overall, the number of unique premises checked in has dwindled from 503,643 logged on April 30 to 277,147 on May 14.
However, Hoe said before a universal use of MySJ Trace is implemented, the issue of data security needs to be resolved, and legislation passed to ensure that MySejahtera and MySJ Trace data are only used in relation with public health matters.
“Currently, we are in the phase of living with the virus.
“However, the public must bear in mind that Covid-19 still exists and that it is a serious disease.
“Anyone with Covid-19 symptoms should do a self-test, and report it in MySejahtera if the result is positive,” he said.
“Visitors to entertainment outlets such as pubs and nightclubs still have to check in with the MySejahtera app because most of these outlets are crowded and have poor ventilation.
“The risk of Covid-19 transmission is higher. If the MySJ Trace is activated, it will be easier to track and trace close contacts.”
Hoe said returning to mandatory MySejahtera check-ins is not necessary as the data is not useful for contact tracing.
Universiti Malaya Institute of Biological Science virologist Dr Muhamad Afiq Aziz said Covid-19 cases will continue to increase even if the MySejahtera app is used.
“This has happened before, and cases are increasing after the holidays.
“As we move towards the endemicity phase, we must learn and practise regular self-monitoring and self-isolation.
“Covid-19 will soon become a similar situation as the seasonal flu,” he said.
Afiq added it would be ideal if the MySJ Trace feature could run automatically on the cell phone without users having to check in every time they want to enter a building.
“Nowadays, it is very difficult to trace casual or close contacts due to many positive cases.
“The situation is different today than when the pandemic started,” he said.
“To live in the endemic era, we need to ensure that we complete our vaccination and booster shots, and practise good personal hygiene,” he added.
Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah told theSun that as of May 16, there were a total of 7,602,516 active MySJ Trace users.
“Since March last year to April this year, a total of 49 million casual contacts were traced using the MySJ Trace,” he said.
Noor Hisham had earlier said new Covid-19 cases had jumped by 119.2% to 19,137 from 8,732 recorded a week before.
