If the mind is willing, the flesh could go on and on without many things.
– Sun Tzu, Chinese strategist
That two senior persons involved in the fight to contain the Covid-19 pandemic in the country have now gone to the extent of begging the citizenry to help out just goes to show the seriousness of the situation we are in.
In fact, the pandemic is not only serious, it has reached a very critical level.
First, Health Department director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah made an impassioned plea to Malaysians to go on a self-imposed quarantine.
He asked the public to make a conscious effort by staying home and to avoid stepping out of the house unnecessarily.
“This self-lockdown will be a major step in the fight against the virus. Let us all consciously make an effort in that direction”, Dr Noor Hisham pleaded.
In Sarawak, Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian begged for public understanding as to why temporary entry into Sarawak from places with many cases is prohibited.
He was particularly concerned with the detection of the South African Covid-19 variant in Kuching as reported by Universiti Malaysia Sarawak’s (Unimas) researchers.
“This travel restriction is to protect your parents, your friends and Sarawak from the new variants. Please look after Sarawak,” he said, pleading for support and cooperation from all Sarawakians in the pandemic war.
As with his stern warning over Chinese New Year and Hari Raya this year, Dr Sim said that if SOPs are not strictly adhered to, the people might not be able to celebrate another Gawai Dayak.
With almost 400 Malaysian fatalities over the past week and the number of infections crossing the half million mark, Malaysia is facing very critical times indeed.
With Sarawak registering three-digit figures in daily infections, the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) has done the right thing to sound a very serious alarm bell.
Silly though it may sound but perhaps, Sarawakians have to ask this obvious question: What is the top priority of SDMC when formulating its policies in the fight against Covid-19?
Of course, it’s to cut the chain of infection and save lives. That is paramount!
To SDMC and all its supporting agencies, nothing is more important than the lives of the citizenry. Their tireless effort is focused on this top agenda.
Why did I bring up such a question? In case, we forget that we are in a pandemic and that we need to cooperate and support SDMC as it is fighting day and night for the past 15 months to save lives.
And possibly very soon, it could be your life or mine. So do not take things for granted. We have a serious war against an invisible enemy and the challenges are getting more difficult.
In the onerous tussle against imported cases, Sarawak has implemented a 14-day quarantine order on all travellers, including Sarawakians, entering the state. This has proven to be the vital cog in breaking the chain of imported cases.
SDMC will continue with its 14-day quarantine as the situation in Malaya has deteriorated with record high positive cases, more fatalities, new clusters and the discovery of new variants, particularly from states like Selangor and Kelantan.
Sarawak must remain vigilant and SDMC has also learnt painful lessons from the emergence of previous clusters such as Kluster Sivagangga, Kluster Bah Arnab Kluster Pasai, among others.
The mistakes of the past where SOPs were not strictly followed or enforced must not be repeated.
Inter-district and inter-division travel are also not permitted at this point but SDMC has allowed travel on compassionate grounds like attending funerals of close family members. That entails very strict SOPs too which includes limiting the number of attendees at such events.
SDMC has started the Covid-19 immunisation programme and is now on track with the vaccination rollout. It is evidenced elsewhere like China, US and UK that vaccination has helped in reducing mortalities and severity.
Hopefully, by the time Malaysia achieved herd immunity in September 2021, Sarawak will also see the tail end of this pandemic.
Meantime, let’s follow the Health Ministry’s 3W and avoid 3C advice — 3W (wash hands, wear masks, warn others), and avoid 3C (crowded places, confined spaces and having close conversations).
Above all, folks, let’s keep this in mind: The virus doesn’t move. People move it. We stop moving, the virus stops, it dies. It’s that simple.
It’s really the time to be dead serious — lock down yourself as if your life depends on it. That’s right; this time, your life really depends on it.
The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune.
