Malaysia not alone in launching Covid-19 emergency

Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid (pic) says that the call for a state of emergency gives focus so that the necessary energy and resources can be directed towards efforts to curb the virus through the rollout of vaccination programmes.

THE state of emergency announced by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin this week is not unique to Malaysia as several other countries have declared similar measures since last year to curb the pandemic.

One example is Italy, where this week, the government extended its “Covid-19 state of emergency” until the end of April.