KUCHING: Be disciplined, comply with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) to stop the Covid-19 transmission or face another lockdown.
This is the advice given by Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Jemut Masing to the public.
He said when people moved around unnecessarily, they might catch the virus and spread it to those around them.
“There is a saying which says ‘Virus doesn’t move, people move. If people don’t move, the virus dies’. This is the simple truth that is easy to understand,” he told New Sarawak Tribune today.
Masing stressed that the people’s movements needed to be stopped or reduced to contain Covid-19.
“If the spike in cases does not stop, then a total lockdown is the only choice for the Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to save the nation,” he said.
He said he hated the inconveniences the lockdown would cause the people and he believed that no one would want to go through another total lockdown.
“Let us therefore discipline ourselves before the government disciplines us by reducing our rights to move,” he said.
Masing was asked to comment on a recent news report that Putrajaya would announce an economic shutdown immediately after Feb 4 if the number of Covid-19 cases did not subside.
The source of the reports came from an internal circular issued by the EU-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Eurocham Malaysia) to its members.
However, EuroCham Malaysia on Jan 24 said that, “We wish to clarify that while Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) underscored the heightened sense of urgency that currently prevails, given the rising number of cases, there was no mention of an immediate lockdown after Feb 4, 2021, and therefore, we seek for people to remain focused on the bigger picture, namely in doing their part to ensure that another lockdown is avoided instead.”
