With the discovery of the Omicron variant of the Covid-19 and without any signs of the pandemic ending anytime soon, some people have wondered if we are bound to go through another cycle of lockdowns.
Immediately after the interstate travel ban was lifted back in October, Prime Minister Dato Seri Ismail Sabri had assured the people that no further blanket MCO will be implemented. But is that really the case? Khairy Jamaluddin has something to say about it.
The Health Minister took to his Twitter account yesterday (9 January) and revealed that our country cannot afford another cycle of lockdown, economically and in terms of the welfare of the society. Khairy used an example of a situation in China where total lockdown was implemented in China when they only had 3 reported Covid-19 cases, which had been proven effective in containing the virus from spreading.
However, since the condition of our country does not allow another movement control order, Khairy stated that the strategy that he will use is known as “mitigation.”
“This means that we will handle Covid-19 cases effectively, which is by ramping up the vaccination process as well as following the SOPs,” he explained.
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The scale-up of the vaccination process is also expected to bring down the death rates, Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admissions, as well as hospital admissions. Additionally, he also mentioned that he has full support from the Health Director-General, Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah to carry his duty as the Malaysia Director-General of Health (KPK).
In total, ever since the pandemic struck Malaysia, our country has undergone 3 series of lockdowns. While the very 1st lockdown which was implemented back in March 2020 had been proven fruitful in curbing the spread of the virus, unfortunately, we cannot afford another cycle of the same implementation.
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It will undeniably lead to more financial and emotional burdens. In the meantime, we can do our parts by continuing to adhere to the SOPs that have been set by the government.
Also read: “No more blanket MCO” PM Assures No More Full Lockdown Even If Covid-19 Cases Increase Again
