Talk on Covid-19 by Dr. Chee Hui Yee

Jointly reported by:
Eugene Wong Zane Shaun Jr1Z(1)
Khoo Xin Yi Jr3Z(6)
Grace Low Shing Wei Sr1ScA

On the 23^rd of April 2021, it was a privilege for Kuen Cheng High School, participants mainly were teachers to have been given a special Talk on the prevention of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2 virus), better known as Covid-19. Our speaker of the day, Dr. Chee Hui Yee, an experienced virologist who was awarded a Ph.D. in Molecular Virology in 2005, is currently an Associate Professor of the Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences in Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM).

Firstly, Dr. Chee explained that the virus spreads via coughing and sneezing, though the virus droplets are larger and heavier than other bacteria. These droplets tend to fall to the ground, however, larger droplets that fall out of the air rapidly within seconds to minutes easily to whoever is in close contact. It was the evident to support of wearing a face mask and keeping the safe distance to reduce the risk of infection. Dr. Chee further stated that although Covid-19 is related to SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome), Covid-19 is way more infectious than them to the point where an asymptomatic patient can spread the virus even though both are far more dangerous and have a higher mortality rate as compared to Covid-19.

Next up, Dr. Chee showed the functions of a mask and the levels of infection probability between mask wearers and non-mask wearers. Before moving on, she reminded us to practice social distancing and to not go out if unnecessary.

Functionality of Masks and Social Distancing

Besides, she also stated that many people do not wash their hands long enough and thus leaving a lot of residual bacteria and virus on their hands. Covid-19 is an enveloped RNA virus and it is less stable in the environment, which is sensitive to detergents and heat. Thus, it is scientifically tested that the proper way is to wash our hands with soap for around 30 seconds.

Effectiveness of Washing Hands

How about the symptoms of this virus? Well, Dr. Chee listed a few common symptoms including coughing, shortness of breath, fever or chills, muscle aches, vomiting and diarrhea. She also stated that most people who contracted the virus are asymptomatic and if you show symptoms, your case may be more serious. She then explained two ways of detecting this virus, namely RT-PCR and RTK-Antigen. RT-PCR is a relatively slow testing method but is more precise than RTK-Antigen.

Covid-19 Symptoms

Even when someone is tested negative, she suggests that a self-isolation or home quarantine for 10 days is to be carried out from the day of the swab test, to place safe. If you do start showing symptoms, test for the virus again, or better yet, vaccinate. Dr. Chee advised us to take the vaccine despite the miniscule risks of discomfort which are exaggerated by the media. The primary objective of taking the vaccine is to reduce the risk of severe infection and to prevent mutation from the virus.

The Talk ended with a Q&A session. One of the teachers asked if the RTK-Antigen test is accurate – a reply from Dr. Chee is NO as the test only detects high levels of virus content. Another asked why students are still not encouraged to conduct PE lessons. The answer would be that strenuous exercise results in students needing a lot of oxygen and thus they breathe heavily around each other, causing easy virus transmission.

After answering all the questions, Dr. Chee encouraged all of us to use the MySejahtera app to find out more updated information about the pandemic, and when tested positive, one can use it to notify the relevant Health Authority. Dr. Chee again advised everyone to play their part in following the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) that helps immensely to mitigate the infectious disease.