KUALA LUMPUR, May 9 — The question of whether or not the movement control order (MCO) that came into force on March 18 will be further extended will be answered in about 72 hours, if not sooner.
After 53 days, many would want their lives to return to normal soon and thus, hoped that the MCO would not be further extended, but the government will certainly have to look into every aspect of the current Covid-19 situation before making its decision.
It is neither a simple nor trivial matter. It is a matter of life and economy. So, a very apt decision should be made by the government on the advice of the Health Ministry (MOH).
If we are afraid that the economy will continue to slow down, maybe the government should decide that the MCO should not be extended. But what’s more important now is the lives of the people.
We don’t want our country to undergo the same situation as the Japanese island of Hokkaido, which has been struck by another surge of Covid-19 cases after lifting the lockdown a little too early.
For the record, the MCO to curb the spread of Covid-19 infection in Malaysia is now in its fourth phase, which will end on May 12. The government has, at the same time, announced the implementation of Conditional MCO (CMCO) from May 4, which saw almost all business sectors allowed to reopen.
Right now, we can be a little proud that as of yesterday, Covid-19 figures had shown an encouraging development as 88 patients were discharged, bringing the total recovery cases to 4,864, which is 74.43 per cent of the total 6,535 positive cases.
In addition, no new deaths were recorded in two consecutive days with the death toll remained at 107. This positive sign is expected to flatten the curve of Covid-19 infection and enable the country to enter the recovery phase.
Since the outbreak of the disease, many complaints have been heard from people being barred from entering supermarkets and having to return home empty-handed just because they did not wear a face mask.
It is undeniable that supermarkets play quite a vital role in preventing the spread of the disease. Almost all supermarkets are compelling their customers to wear face masks and have their body temperature checked before entering the premises during the MCO.
In this regard, Senior Minister (security cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said it is not an offence if someone doesn’t wear a face mask in public places and the management of the supermarket, or any business premises, cannot chase away customers who are not wearing it, let alone to have them detained or arrested.
This, he said, is provided for in the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 or Act 342.
However, Ismail Sabri said the Health Ministry had already issued guidelines and always reminded the public that only those who were Covid-19 symptomatic should wear face masks to prevent the spread of the virus.
So, let’s inculcate the new normal when going to public places. Although it is not compulsory, it is indeed highly encouraged for everyone to wear a face mask to prevent Covid-19 infection.
After all, prevention is always better than cure.
We have yet to win this war against the pandemic. We should get used to the new normal, practise self-control and avoid crowding and congestion at any place.
Almost every day we heard Ismail Sabri and Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah gave us that reminder during their daily press conferences.
It would be sad if all those reminders fell on deaf ears.
— Bernama
