The HEALTH : April 2020 | Page 7

April, 2020 | The Health Healthcare Travel Campaign 2020 deferred In light of recent events surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC) has deferred the Malaysia Year of Healthcare Travel 2020 (MyHT2020) campaign. With an optimistic outlook, MHTC hopes to resume the Malaysia Year of Healthcare Travel campaign in 2021. This deferment paves way for the current needs of the nation’s healthcare industry to contain, and subsequently, eradicate the virus. During this challenging time, MHTC will continue showcasing Malaysia Healthcare’s capabilities and strengths as a world-class quality healthcare provider. This includes preparation for a healthy industry rebound through proactive and dedicated brand presence in our target markets. With this, MHTC will be able to direct a more concentrated effort in driving sustainable industry growth for Malaysia to be continually recognised as the World’s Healthcare Marvel. MHTC prioritises safety for all and remains dedicated in its support towards the Government in ensuring public health and national safety in managing this global pandemic. We greatly appreciate the trust, support, and patience from our partners and stakeholders as we work to finalise details of the deferment. “Please be rest assured that we will continue to keep all parties informed. For now, as a nation let’s focus on solidarity in fighting the pandemic,” said MHTC in a statement. This is in tandem with the decision of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC) to take the following pre-emptive actions: • Cancellation of Visit Malaysia Campaign 2020 (VM2020) • A freeze on all over-the-counter and online services for new application, license renewal of travel operating business and travel, tourist guide, tourism training institute and registration of rated tourist accommodation premises as well as spa and foot massage centre. The cancellation of Visit Malaysia 2020 (VM2020) with immediate effect is in line with the impact of COVID-19 outbreak which has profoundly affected the tourism sector in Malaysia and the whole world. Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri said a freeze on all over-the- counter and online services at Tourism Licensing Division and MOTAC state offices concerning tourism licensing including business travel operator, tourist guide, tourism training institute and registration of rated tourist accommodation premises, spa centre and foot massage centre is also effective for the duration of the MCO. “All tourist accommodation premises are allowed to operate at minimum level. Their services are to be rendered to guests who have already checked-in into the hotels before March 18, 2020, whilst food and beverages are restricted to room service only. On that note, the guests are to remain in their rooms throughout the quarantine period,” said Nancy in a statement issued by the ministry. Check-ins at the tourist accommodation premises during the Movement Control Order are allowed but on a limited scale. For guests who have to extend their stay due to the implementation of MCO, they may book and/ or check-in with the tourist accommodation premises according to their budget. However, new check-ins for domestic tourists are not allowed. Nancy urged the public to abide by the rule of social distancing during the implementation of the MCO and to get verified information from official sources. — The Health Export boost for Malaysian exporters at Arab Health Expo THE Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) is well known for its role in positioning Malaysia as a globally competitive trading nation by promoting Malaysian companies to the world. Recently, Matrade promoted Malaysian medical devices and healthcare services in the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region by spearheading the participation of Malaysian companies in Arab Health 2020 Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The event on Jan 27-30, 2020 saw 18 Malaysian companies accumulate a potential export value of RM700 million. It marked MATRADE’s 16th participation in the event, which helps in creating export opportunities for Malaysia. Malaysian companies from different sectors were promoted to over 100,000 global visitors, including those from medical consumables, healthcare and wellness services as well as digital healthcare technology. According to Matrade’s Director of Lifestyle and Life Sciences, Naim Abdul Rahman: “Participation in Arab Health 2020 was in line with Matrade’s strategy to boost exports of Malaysian medical devices and healthcare services particularly to the MENA region. “The effort was also aimed at diversifying our exports markets from the usual Western Europe markets to emerging markets in the MENA region. Malaysia’s total export of medical devices to the region in 2019 was valued at RM657.7 million, accounting for 2.75 per cent of Malaysia’s global exports. There is still a lot of potentials to be explored. Participation in large-scale events such as Arab Health helps to boost our country branding among the buyers there.” He added Malaysia’s total export of medical devices stretched to RM23.9 billion in 2019, registering an increase of 3.6 per cent compared to 2018. “Over the years, we can see that Malaysian medical devices are well accepted in the region, supported by Malaysia’s reputation as the world’s leading exporter Malaysian companies at the Arab Health Expo 2020 - photo from ETS Bio Freeze of medical gloves and catheters – which are some key products categorised under Medical Devices,” Naim explained. According to Matrade’sTrade Commissioner in Dubai, Omar Mohd Salleh, the UAE government has placed US$1.32 billion for its healthcare sector’s development in 2020 – a nine per cent increase compared to 2019. “This shows the importance of the healthcare sector to the country, and it can translate into business opportunities for Malaysian companies. During Arab Health 2020, Malaysian companies received enquiries and buyers not only from the GCC countries but as far as the United States, Brazil, Belgium, Peru, Nigeria, Senegal and Ghana too,” shared Omar. In 2019, the top-five export destinations for Malaysian medical devices in the MENA region were Turkey, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Oman. Together, these markets contribute 73.3 per cent of Malaysia’s exports of medical devices to the region. Malaysia’s exports of medical devices to the MENA region showed a steady growth of 64.4 per cent for the past five years from RM400 million in 2014 to RM657.7 million in 2019. —The Health Malaysia's first 5G-connected ambulance THE local healthcare industry has been hyped up by Malaysia’s first 5G-connected ambulance introduced by Digi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd (Digi) in partnership with Hospital Sultanah Maliha in Langkawi and Collaborative Research in Engineering, Science & Technology (CREST). Digi’s Chief Technology Officer, Kesavan Sivabalan said: “The presentation underscores the impact of 5G in key industry verticals such as healthcare. It shows how gigabytes of data can be transferred during an emergency transfer. This is a key development in enabling remote healthcare monitoring and diagnosis too.” During a live demonstration, real-life simulation of how a patient’s vital signs such as ECG readings and ultrasound scans taken while en route for the hospital in the 5G-connected ambulance was performed by the paramedics. The critical medical information, which often appears in gigabyte sizes, are then passed on, in real- time, to the hospital so necessary preparation can be done while awaiting patients’ arrival. By having a 5G-connection, continuous streaming of data from when the paramedics arrive (at emergency location) right up to the patient arriving at the hospital will improve patient care experiences. According to the Dr Mansor Ismail, director of Hospital Sultanah Maliha, the use of upgraded technology in the medical line has the potential to transform the face of healthcare in the future. “Our doctors can now potentially improve emergency medical care response times. Through this technology, doctors can achieve a higher level of accuracy in patients’ diagnostics, especially in emergency healthcare where time is of the essence,” Malaysia's first 5G-connected ambulance. Dr Mansor was quoted in an NST report. The 5G-connected ambulance showcase is part of Digi’s use case in the 5G Demonstration Project (5GDP) undertaken by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to facilitate, develop and foster 5G usage. At the moment, Digi has two 5G live sites on Langkawi Island — one near Langkawi International Airport and the second station in Hospital Sultanah Maliha’s compound. The second 5G mobile base station located near the hospital operates on a C-band spectrum of 3.4-3.5GHz (100MHz bandwidth) with a speed of 1.2Gbps. Concurrently, Digi is also facilitating new 5G use case tests at the 5G OpenLab space, an incubator space for businesses, academics and developers located in Cyberjaya. The 5G OpenLab’s objective is to build and nurture the development of potential 5G ecosystem in a live but controlled environment to identify more viable use of cases that have the potential to better the community. — The Health 07