‘According to the government, this is to prevent a full-fledged impact the lockdown will have on the country's economy. Finance minister Tengku Zafrul has said the first MCO imposed nationwide last year cost the country RM2.4 billion (S$787 million) a day, but only RM600 million a day this time. While allowing key economic sectors to operate as usual could help arrest the daily economic loss, there is nevertheless a hefty public health price to pay...
‘To break the infection chain, we cannot afford to take things for granted. If the government eventually decides to extend the current MCO, it must tighten the SOPs, even to the extent of locking down all economic activities, or we will stand to lose even more if MCO is extended over and again. The situation now is indeed alarming.
‘From infection clusters mostly linked to migrant workers, factories, shopping malls, prisons and detention centres, we now have new clusters emerging in workplaces and even medical centres. All this highlights the fact that the virus has not only penetrated our communities but is fast expanding its reach, and may soon come to you or your family members, colleagues and friends.’
Read here (Straits Times, Jan 25, 2021)
