Please test before you travel

TRAVEL and movement across the nation is expected to be on the rise due to the beginning of the Hari Raya Haji season tomorrow.

Now that Malaysia has entered the transition into endemic phase, people are venturing out and about in droves.

However, this does not mean we should let our guard down. For one thing, case numbers seem to be rising a little, going from an average of 2,000-plus to 4,020 yesterday.

What’s more, five cases of the Covid-19 Omicron BA.5 variant have been detected in Malaysia and are likely to spread widely, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said yesterday (The Star; online at bit.ly/star_variant).

So please heed the advice of the Health Ministry to check yourself for Covd-19 using the RTK-antigen self-test kits before you balik kampung or go on a holiday. Because we still need to stay vigilant and protect each other. And it helps that the prices of the kits are significantly lower these days, making them more affordable for everyone.

Continue to mask up especially around children and the elderly. Some will argue that there is no need to do so and constant fear of the virus is akin to living in a cave. Some have also likened Covid-19 to the common flu and say there is nothing to be fearful about.

This arrogant and lackadaisical attitude will only do more harm than good.

Yes, there might come a time when we can go back to pre-pandemic days. However, that time is not now. I too long for life to be as it was. We are on track to achieve that.

Listen to our frontliners, who have and are continuing to battle tooth and nail to ensure a safer Malaysia.

Wearing a mask when the situation calls for it and washing hands frequently is the least we can do. We have lost enough to this pandemic.

YEAP MING LIONG

Subang Jaya, Selangor