Malaysia is experiencing its 4th wave of Covid-19 and the daily cases have been on the rise as the relaxation of the SOPs. This incident had been made into a cautionary example by the Indonesian Health Ministry as the remind their citizens to take precautions against Covid-19 infection.
Their Health Ministry has released a Tweet saying that they are two factors driving a sudden surge in Covid-19 cases and they are the emergence of new Covid-19 variants as well as high mobility.
Their Ministry’s spokesperson, Dr Siti Nadia Tarmizi M. Epid said that there are now 3 new Covid-19 variants emerging in Indonesia, which they are B.1.1.7 (UK variant), B.1.3.5.1 (South Africa variant) and B.1.6.1.7. (India variant).
She said that all three variants are spreading faster in comparison to previous variants which could be seen in certain countries such as India and Malaysia. What’s worrying is that all these three variants have been detected within their shores.
She then asserted “Learn from India and Malaysia, we certainly do not want Indonesia to end up like them. Indonesians are reminded to always follow the 3M health protocols and avoid going out when not necessary.”
The 3M health protocols from Indonesia is similar to our version of the SOP and they are to always wear face masks, wash your hands and maintaining social distancing. In addition to that, she urged the citizens to celebrate Hari Raya Aidifitri at home and not spread the virus to your loved ones.
According to Malaysiakini, Malaysia has been handling Covid-19 better than Indonesia previously. However, we are far worse than our neighbouring countries currently. If we were to adjust Covid-19 cases by the size of population, Malaysia has a ratio of over 100 cases per million while Indonesia has around 18 per million.
According to the latest statistics, India currently records an alarming 350,000 cases per day which makes a ratio of over 280 per million people.
What do you think about this? Should Malaysians do something to improve the impression we give others? Share your thoughts!
