James Kon
Minister of Health Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohd Isham bin Haji Jaafar described the leadership of His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam as crucial in managing the COVID-19 outbreak.
In an exclusive interview with the Bulletin, the minister said, “The most important thing that differentiates us from some other countries is the leadership. With His Majesty’s leadership and full support of our plans, together with the involvement of everyone in Brunei, we have managed to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the country.
“We have a strong leader and a very committed population. I believe that these are the two main reasons why we managed to control (the coronavirus) reasonably quickly in Brunei Darussalam.”
When asked whether Brunei has won the war against COVID-19, the minister said, “Alhamdulillah, we never had a full lockdown, so we were able to continue our daily lives in an almost normal way. With everyone’s cooperation, we have managed to de-escalate to where we are now, but I don’t think it’s the complete story yet.”
He continued, “It’s still a long way to go. Only when the pandemic is over can we determine as to whether we were successful in controlling the virus or otherwise. In a way, the country has managed reasonably well in terms of controlling the pandemic.
“Our economy may not be 100 per cent, but it’s still functioning. Small and medium enterprises are also operating once more. Of course, the most affected sector has been tourism and related industries, but with staycations, some businesses are actually improving.”
On the issue of acquiring vaccines for the country, Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohd Isham said, “At the moment, we are hearing stories of vaccines being produced or in clinical trials. Some are in phase two or three. Of course, vaccines usually take a few years to be produced effectively.
“The shortest time period for producing a vaccine was three years for measles. That’s how long it takes to produce an effective vaccine.
“We’ve only had the pandemic since January. People were already talking about vaccines in early February and March, which is roughly about six months. So it’s not something easy to decide, for reasons of efficacy and safety.”
He added, “Alhamdulillah, the WHO (World Health Organization), together with other organisations such as Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, has proposed for countries to be involved in producing the vaccine. At the moment, we are in discussions with them through the WHO.
Hopefully, we can secure a vaccine for a percentage of the population when it becomes available.”