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
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