COVID-19 Pandemic In Malaysia
COVID-19 is a new virus of an infectious disease that became an outbreak and is now declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). This virus had affected more than 140 countries around the world. It is a worrying trend as the number of cases and fatality rate keeps rising since the virus was detected in Wuhan, China in November 2019. The outbreak had also impacted all countries in so many ways.
In Malaysia, COVID-19 gives a big impact towards the economic and social welfare. The country had identified more than 3600 cases as of 5 April 2020 with 61 confirmed death. Among the number of identified cases, 1005 had recovered and discharged from the hospital. Malaysia has now become the fourth country with the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the Asian region. Surely it has become more worrying with the increasing number of cases every single day, especially the mass religious gathering at Sri Petaling Mosque contributed a large number of positive COVID-19 cases in Malaysia. All the participants of that mass gathering, travelers and foreigners that came from highly affected countries are advised to go to the nearest government hospital or clinic to do a health check-up and self-quarantine for 14 days.
Sources: Ministry of Health Malaysia (MOH)
What Causes Covid-19 Pandemic?
It all started in Wuhan Market in China, where the new mysterious coronavirus had spread and believed it was transmitted by the animal. Up until now, the animal carrying the virus is still undetectable by the scientist. Most of the people around the world speculate that the virus was transmitted by bats in which Wuhan wet market are famous for selling exotic animal as food. They believed exotic animals have some sort of nutrition and medicine that cure various diseases. Nobody thought that it soon turned out to be a place of a virus outbreak.
How the COVID-19 could be transmitted?
The infection is spread from one person to another via respiratory droplets produced during coughing and sneezing. The duration from exposure to onset of symptoms is generally between 2 and 14 days, with an average of 5 days. These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs. Other than that, it may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes, but this is thought not to be the main way the virus spreads.
The most common symptom if you are exposed to COVID-19:
- Fever
- Cough
- Shortness of Breath
- Breathing Difficulties
In more severe cases, the infection can cause:
- Pneumonia (virus and bacteria-infected lung that cause lung inflammation)
- Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)
- Kidney failure
- Death
Sources: World Health Organisation (WHO)
How COVID-19 give negative impact to Malaysian people’s lives?
- Public Health Threat- As we know, COVID-19 attack the human respiratory system and cause difficulty in breathing. The worst part is, children, pregnant women, more importantly, it is very dangerous to old folks that have a background of chronic diseases and people who have low body immune, can easily be affected by this virus.
- Panic & extreme worried- As the number of novel coronavirus cases increases day by day, the majority of the citizens become paranoid and desperate to protect their family and themselves too. Because of that, they undergo panic buying and this left a negative impact as essential stock such as face mask and hand sanitizer became out of stock too. This selfish and irresponsible behaviour has badly affected other people’s lives, especially poor people that could not afford to buy in bulk.
- Affected SME’s & Small business profit- This virus does not only infect people’s health but also businesses, especially SME and Small businesses in terms of loss in profit and rise in liabilities. This is because all non-essential business needs to close down for 2 weeks during the Restriction of Movement Order.
- Some employees being terminated from the company – When SME or small businesses are not operating, the cost of labour is still going on without any production or sales. In order to cut the cost and survive in the industry, they terminate and lay-off their worker to cover all the losses.
Malaysia Government activated COVID-19 prevention and protection plan
The Honourable Prime Minister of Malaysia announced on 16 March 2020, on the Restriction of Movement Order to contain the spread of Coronavirus COVID-19 in Malaysia. The Order, which is issued under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 and the Police Act 1967, will be in effect throughout Malaysia from 18 until 31 March 2020.
The Restriction of Movement Order (RMO) includes the following measures:
- The restriction bans mass gatherings and overseas travel. All educational institutions, businesses, and premises will be closed, except those involved in essential services.
- If you have any questions about the restriction, the National Security Council has released a FAQ here.
According to the Federal gazette released on March 18, you are not allowed to go out (even within states) unless you need to:
- Perform an official duty
- Visit a premise that is considered an ‘essential service’
- Purchase, supply or deliver food or daily necessities
- Seek healthcare or medical services
In Addition, the Senior Minister of National Security Council has given a statement that only one representative of a family could go out to purchase daily necessities. If you did not follow these restrictions, you could face RM1,000 fine, or up to six months’ jail, or both.
In order to help citizens during COVID-19 crisis, the government introduces the Aid scheme and Incentive:
- Electricity bill discount. There will also be a 2% discount on electricity bills for domestic users, as well as those in commercial, industrial and agriculture sectors. This will begin on April 1 for a period of six months, until September 30.
- PTPTN deferment. The government announced a three-month deferment of PTPTN loan repayments. It is in effect immediately until June 30.
- Restructuring and Reschedule of loan. The government had asked financial institutions to provide financial relief to borrowers by rescheduling or restructuring loans, as well as offering payment moratoriums. The exemption is given from March 1, 2020, until December 31, 2020.
- Tax exemptions and deferments. Travel agencies, hotels, airlines, as well as businesses in the tourism industry, will be given a deferment of their monthly tax installment for six months starting April 1, 2020. Hotels will also be exempted from service tax from March 1, 2020, until August 31, 2020.
- RM600 Incentive. All workers that had to take unpaid leave during Restriction Movement Order can apply the incentive RM600 per month (6 months maximum).
- PRIHATIN Rakyat Economic Stimulus Package worth RM250 billion which will benefit everyone. RM128 billion will be channeled to preserve rakyat’s welfare, RM100 billion to support businesses, including SMEs and RM2 billion to strengthen the economy. Meanwhile, RM20 billion has been announced in the earlier stimulus package.
For more information regarding this matter, you can visit: beritaharian.com and Treasury Government Bantuan Prihatin Nasional
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These are some advice and responsibilities for Malaysian citizens to follow during COVID-19 crisis:
- Just stay at home. If you do go out to stock up, please only buy what you need for a few days.
- Avoid visiting any places during the Restriction of Movement Order (RMO), or using public transport to the hospital because the possibility to get infected is higher.
- Postpone your medical appointments during RMO, unless you cannot wait and must see the doctor straight away.
- Always practices good hygiene and self-cleanliness, wash your hand with soap, use sanitizer and wear a mask if you need.
- All Malaysian citizens need to give full cooperation towards the government to follow all the instructions in order to prevent transmission of the virus.
- Manage your budget wisely for the next few weeks, if you have been forced to go on unpaid leave, consider if (and how) you can afford to ride out the next two weeks or more. If you don’t have any emergency savings, try to cut out non-essential expenses, this will help stretch your budget for longer until you can get back to work.
- If you can do so, consider giving financial help to those who need them.
In the meantime, stay home and stay safe. It is our responsibilities toward the nation to stay healthy and help others by not becoming the vehicle of transmission. The government and the front liners are giving their best effort to fight against this virus, and we must do ours. We are all in this together and hope all will be back to normal.
If you have the symptom of COVID-19 as mention above please visit the nearest Hospital around you to get a check-up. Here is the list of Hospital that we could provide for you:
List of Covid-19 Screening Hospital
Sources & References:
