Today
marks Day 432 of the border closing between Malaysia and Singapore, and its
adverse effects are acutely felt, mainly by the business sector in Johor Baru.
From
the start of the nationwide lockdown under the first Movement Control Order
(MCO) on March 18, 2020, life as we knew it before the global pandemic, has
changed forever.
The first joint Press Conference 'live' on TV
Daily,
we are deluged with so much information from local and international media.
There
are also countless jokes and creative memes along with loads of wise words and
chunks of news and advice in voice and video recordings, often from reliable
sources but some are obviously fake.
Then
there were parodies of popular songs, performed to lyrics that reflected the mood
in this prevailing pandemic, that amused us and temporarily eased the somber
state of reality.
To
break the chain of infection, the advice was for everyone to stay at home and
go out only for groceries and medical needs. While grocers and pharmacies
remained open, all other sectors were closed in the first MCO.
Staff
from the government clinic where my mother visits for her regular check-ups, phoned
to postpone her appointments – not once but twice during the first MCO – and I
was advised to collect her prescriptions, only when necessary.
All
eyes and ears were tuned into the news channels to learn more about this
dreadful virus and while some were still protesting against the advice to wear
face masks, we observed with deep sadness, the escalating number of deaths in
the US.
In
short, it was best to Stay Home to Stay Safe.
The
uncertainties in the early part of the pandemic probably shocked our nation
into obedience and as the local community strictly complied with the Standard
Operating Procedures (SOP), the daily infections here were successfully
reduced.
At
first, we naively thought that the lockdown period was just for two weeks.
Then
the periods were extended to a further two weeks until it steadily stretched
into months and months, with various changes in the Conditions and
suddenly, it was already the end of the year 2020.
It
was both stressful and scary to go out even for a short trip because the virus
was an unseen enemy and with updated reports of asymptomatic people, no-one
knows who may be the virus carriers. And I could not risk carrying it home to my
family.
For
the second MCO implemented in January 2021, the commercial sector was reopened
and the public were able to go about – wearing face masks – and required to
comply with all the SOPs.
However,
many were wearing masks improperly, either below the nose or under the chin.
With
the enforcement of MCO 2.0, daily infections gradually reduced in February but
less than two months after the restrictions were relaxed, the numbers surged
again.
Every
day we received grim updates on the new infections with the breakdown of
numbers recorded from each state, total number of recoveries and deaths in the
past 24 hours.
While
skeptics may say that the numbers have been manipulated or exaggerated, we have
to face the fact that there are new infections and many who were infected, have
died from complications arising from underlying diseases.
At
one stage, the local media frequently featured advertisements that illustrated
how close physical contact may cause the spread of infections. This aimed to
send the message to the public that it only took a brief contact to spread the
virus which may be deadly to the elderly, children and those with underlying
illnesses.
They
also featured local celebrities and sports personalities in public service ads
to send the message to Stay Home to Stay Safe. But all these ads
gradually tapered off.
Many
no longer bothered about Staying Home to Stay Safe and suddenly the
malls were filled with people, many thronging the corridors in
multi-generational groups.
People
were clearly lingering and no longer heading to the grocers or pharmacies and
quickly leaving for home.
Working-From-Home
was no longer appealing because working people could not balance their work and
me-time at home and longed to be back at work to enjoy the routine,
structure and office camaraderie they so missed.
Life
went on as usual for the general public, mingling in places like malls and
night markets.
And
when Ramadan rolled around, the crowds not only flocked to the bazaars but many
found their way back to their hometowns through rat-routes while
inter-state and inter-district travel were still prohibited.
The
phrase, super-spreader was used to describe how quickly this virus could
be spread among people who came into contact with infected people in gatherings.
These
variants were so named because they were initially detected in countries like
the UK, South Africa, Brazil and India. According to the World Health
Organisation:
“All viruses including the
virus that causes Covid-19 evolve over time. When a virus replicates itself or
makes a copy of itself, it sometimes changes a little bit, which is normal for
a virus. These changes are called mutations.
A virus with one or more new
mutations is referred to as a variant of the original virus. When a virus is
widely circulating in a population and causing many infections, the likelihood
of the virus mutating increases.
The more opportunities a virus
has to spread, the more it replicates – and the more opportunities it has to
undergo changes.”
We
saw scenes of long queues of people holding oxygen cylinders, waiting for their
turn to get their supply refilled. Then the horrific news that many patients
died just because the hospital had run out of oxygen.
As
the number of infections in our country surged higher and healthcare services
were being stretched, MCO 3.0 kicked in from May 12, to stay in effect till
June 7.
It
was sobering news when Health Director-General, Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah,
announced that at least three variants have been identified here.
To
illustrate how a virus could be easily spread, he cited an example of a person
who worked in Johor and returned to East Malaysia to attend a funeral, and
inadvertently spread the virus which caused a cluster that resulted in many
deaths.
As
daily infections and deaths were recording new highs, I received a meme on
WhatsApp with a simple message that made good sense. Quote: “The virus
doesn’t move, people move it. We stop moving, the virus stops moving…”
It
reminded me to discipline myself to limit my movements outside to essential
reasons like buying groceries or going for hospital or vaccination
appointments.
Even
as the number of deaths being reported daily have been recording an upward
trend, people have grown so de-sensitized by the reported deaths that it had
become only a number – a mere statistic.
It
is truly a sad situation when the community had become so complacent about
another death. They forget that a family has lost a loved one, maybe a sole
breadwinner, a beloved child, son or daughter, parent or grandparent.
For
some families who had relatives battling the viral infection, they experienced
the loss of family members, one after another within days. Before they could grieve
for one, it was time for another funeral.
While
some grieving families had to live on with a single parent, there are children who
have lost both their parents to this dreadful virus.
In
reality, those who lost the battle to the virus were beloved people and now
their families have the arduous task to live on without them.
And
for people who probably passed the virus to their family members who had
underlying illnesses – and later died – they have to live on, haunted by survivor’s
guilt.
Very
often people dismiss the information, unaffected because it was just daily news
about happenings to others and not to their family or anyone they know.
Sadly,
many have become so fatigued and de-sensitized that they may never relate to
the pain and sorrow of losing a loved one to this deadly virus, probably unless
the infection or death happened to someone in their own family.
Closer
to home, it was reported a few days ago, that Sungai Buloh Hospital was using
shipping containers as makeshift morgues as the number of deaths in our country
are on the rise. Then we read news about undertakers who are being overwhelmed
by the sheer number of burials.
Our
healthcare system is being stretched and temporary quarantine centers are on
the increase because so many have been infected and needed to be quarantined.
A
true picture is emerging from photos and videos shown on national television
where healthcare staff – dressed to the hilt in Personal Protection Equipment
(PPE) – all look exhausted, the Intensive Care Units are almost at full
capacity and it will only be a matter of time before they run out of
ventilators.
As
the Covid-19 virus takes hold of the world, scientists are doing further
studies on this infection which attacks the respiratory system and observed
that patients who recovered would have lingering symptoms of weakness and
lethargy that may vary from patient to patient.
This
reminded me of the miserable after-effects of dreadful mosquito-borne viral
diseases like dengue fever, chikungunya, yellow fever and Zika, and where many
have also died from these viruses.
As
for the fast-mutating Covid-19 virus, it is still too early to tell how long its
post recovery symptoms may last. It will be some form of misery and something patients
who have suffered any viral fevers, would never wish to experience again.
This
is truly an unprecedented time and it is not up to the authorities alone to offer
solutions but the rakyat must also do our part.
The
advice from the Health DG to wear double masks when in crowded areas like
hospitals, is indicative of how rampant the infections are and how serious the
situation is developing. Then yesterday, he called on the nation to go on
self-imposed lockdown for the next two weeks.
So
let us not wait for MCO 3.0+ or 4.0 with stricter restrictions to be enforced before
we do our part to break the chain of infection. Let us be sensitive to what is
happening around us and exercise self-discipline to reduce our own movements.
It
will take us one step closer to reducing the number of infections and possible
deaths, one step more to reviving the economy and a further step towards
reopening the borders to welcome visitors and for our own family reunions and
travel.
Not
only will our healthcare workers thank you, your own community and the whole nation
will appreciate your self-discipline to help break the chain of infection.
In
so doing, we are not only helping the business sector but also helping
ourselves to get another step closer to recovering a sense of normalcy again.
Thank
you in advance, for your part in helping to stop the spread of infection.
