Urgent need for self-discipline

Malaysians need to do their part to stop a second wave of Covid-19 cases or face another round of lockdown during the pandemic.

THE last thing we want is a second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic to hit the country. We just cannot afford another lockdown.

But that is exactly what we are facing now.

Positive Covid-19 cases are on the rise again and new clusters have been discovered. The government has already warned of a stricter movement control order (MCO) if this trend continues.

For now though, the self-quarantine rule for returning Malaysians from overseas has been rescinded. Starting today, all incoming travellers into the country will have to undergo mandatory 14-day quarantine at hotels or quarantine centres.

Lest it be forgotten, we are already on day 129 of some form of MCO and the relaxed version, the so-called recovery MCO period is into day 43. It is due to end on Aug 31, but with the recent spike in cases, you cannot blame the government if this is further extended.

Small businesses especially cannot afford another lockdown. It will lead to business closures, job losses and even bankruptcies. Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has already said that Malaysia would lose an estimated RM2bil daily if we were to return to stricter MCO enforcement.

Ultimately, it all boils down to our attitude. As long as a vaccine against this virus is not forthcoming, life will not be normal.

The problem is that ever since the government lifted restrictions on various businesses, people have ignored the Covid-19 standard operating procedure (SOP). This tidak apa attitude is dangerous.

Take for example the cases of Malaysians who have returned from overseas and who were allowed to self-quarantine at home. Eagle-eyed members of the public have spotted these people (they are required to wear a pink medical bracelet) out and about.

Shouldn’t we have a hotline to report these recalcitrant people? Their actions are not only selfish, they endanger other Malaysians.

Service staff are well within their rights to deny the public entry if they do not comply with the SOP. The recent well-publicised case of a local celebrity who abused the security guard in a Cheras mall for not allowing her sister in because she wasn’t wearing a mask comes to mind.

The government announced yesterday the mandatory use of face masks in public areas from Aug 1. I believe that Malaysians as a whole support such a move. A poll was conducted on The Star’s Facebook page and the results were overwhelming. Around 90% of those polled (about 41,200 votes) were in favour of compulsory face masks.

There can be no argument now if F&B or retail outlets and even shopping malls stop people from coming in if they do not follow the SOP. But we haven’t yet reached the levels of the Philippines, where President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the arrest of his countrymen who do not wear face masks in public.

Despite earlier misgivings over its usage, the worldwide medical community has now agreed that wearing a mask reduces drastically the risk of contracting the coronavirus.

Even in the United States where its chief medical adviser to the government Dr Anthony Fauci as well as the surgeon-general told the American public that it was not

necessary to wear a mask, opinions have now been reversed. President Donald Trump himself has been seen wearing a mask in public, a far cry from his stance when Covid-19 first hit the US.

He may have been mistaken then, but Trump appears to have been proven right about the benefits of the anti-malarial drug, hydroxychloroquine. Having first discredited usage of the drug, medical experts are now saying that it could save up to 100,000 lives if used for Covid-19 treatment.

Hydroxychloroquine, although promoted by Trump and now proven to be effective, is not the vaccine that the world is craving for. That may yet come before the end of this year from either the United Kingdom or China. Both these countries appear to be in the later stages of producing a life-saving vaccine.

We can only pray that news of early success in vaccination trials are not unfounded. Regardless of which country discovers a vaccine first, a mass-produced, cheap antidote has to be made available to the rest of the world.

For the time being, the onus is on us as good citizens to follow the rules of the recovery MCO, to be vigilant and to maintain social distancing measures, especially in public. The only way to fight the virus is to do this collectively. As Malaysians, we cannot shift the blame to others or the government if there is a spike.

We have been through the worse of the Covid-19 pandemic and our economy is now slowly and painfully recovering. Some parts of the world are seeing a second wave and these countries have been forced to reintroduce lockdown measures. We cannot allow that to happen in Malaysia.

Stop being selfish. Wear a mask!