When will it end?

TODAY is the 321st day since the government implemented the movement control order (MCO) in March 2020.

The MCO has taken many forms over the months. Certainly, there are infractions but Malaysians as a whole realised their lives (literally) depend on the adherence to MCO rules.

The “SOP” (standard operating procedure) has become the new lexicon. It is probably the most talked about abbreviation in the history of this country. It should be the Words of the Year (WOTY) for Malaysians. While Merriam-Webster’s WOTY for 2020 is “pandemic”, the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) surprised everyone by not naming one.

“It quickly became apparent that 2020 is not a year that could neatly be accommodated in one single word of the year, ” according to a statement by OED. It is not easy to find such a word or words in an “unprecedented year”.

Now you know how extraordinary 2020 was!

It was simply the Year of the Pandemic. Nothing much happened in 2020 except for the “undemocratic” decision by the worst president in modern US history not to accept the results of the US presidential election.

Looking back into history, the influenza pandemic (also known as Spanish Flu) that started in 1918 affected a third of humanity. There were 1.5 billion souls on Planet Earth at the time. The death toll was 50 million people. In 1918, the control efforts were limited to isolation, quarantine, good personal hygiene, disinfection and limitation to personal contacts and public gatherings. There was no cure for the virus back then.

Sounds familiar?

The flu came in three waves; the second that began in August 1918 was the deadliest. The pneumonia developed fast, patients dying just a few days after their first symptoms.

Are we not talking about a new strain of Covid-19 discovered in England in September said to be mutating into a more deadly force now?

Are these new strains raising the bar for its ability to spread and to cause more havoc?

An expert on SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, Dr Robert Bollinger of Johns Hopkins, has this to say, “We are not seeing any indication that the new strain is more virulent or dangerous in terms of causing more severe Covid-19 diseases.”

Is that good news?

The next question is, how long did the influenza pandemic last at the time? Two years.

How long will the 2020 pandemic last? The truth is no one has the answer for now.

Despite promises of vaccines, many believe we are in for a long haul. The road towards normalcy will take a bit of time.

Time kills. Never before whole industries, businesses and jobs were decimated the way it is now.

For humanity, it is a study in humility. Despite our prowess in almost every discipline of human endeavours, we are being inescapably tamed by the virus.

Our supremacy in pharmaceutical sciences and the latest state-of-the art medical facilities have proven incapable of curing the disease. Vaccines don’t cure but it is the best prevention available.

It is interesting to note that advanced countries are worst hit this time than poorer or developing countries. The US has seen more than 450,000 deaths, Brazil more than 200,000 and the UK breached the 100,000-mark a few days ago.

In terms of death percentage to those affected, the highest is Italy (3.5%), followed by the UK (2.7%) and Germany (2.5%).

The world’s average is 2%. In terms of death per million, the highest is the UK (1,471) followed by Italy (1,431) and the US (1,311).

The only Asian country that is listed in the top 10 affected countries is India which recorded a 1.4% death to those affected and 111 deaths per million.

India has more than 10 million people affected, but it also has the highest percentage in terms of recovery among the top 10 affected countries (96.9%), followed by Turkey (95.1%) and Brazil (87.3%).

It is scary looking at our numbers but I believe the government is doing its best to manage the crisis. The truth is, like everyone else, I want to go back to my old routines.

I want to travel the world and walk along some of the most scenic and postcard-perfect landscapes known to mankind.

I want to socialise, join gatherings, lepak at mamak shops with my friends, watch theatre and go for holidays with my family.

Like everyone else, the MCO is getting on my nerves. I am cautiously reminded of a character, Howard Beale (played with demonic exactitude by Peter Finch) in the 1976 movie, Network, directed by Sidney Lumet. There was a time when he snapped, opened the window and shouted, “I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this any more!” It became one of the best remembered moments in the history of cinema.

Economic stimulus and the timely help for Makcik Kiah aside, did anyone ever seriously discuss the mental effects of Covid-19 on our people?

Johan Jaaffar was a journalist, editor and for some years chairman of a media company, and is passionate about all things literature and the arts. And a diehard rugby fan. The views expressed here are entirely his own.