Coronavirus update

As we all know, a second round of the Movement Control Order has been imposed in Penang and five other states in the country since Wednesday due to the escalating cases of the Covid-19 virus. The coronavirus pandemic is threatening to spin out of control. But I was both shocked and concerned over the situation yesterday. 

In the morning, my wife and I decided to shop for fresh provisions at the public market in Taman Selamat. We don't usually go there as our normal wet market is the one at Kampong Baru. But for a change, we went to Taman Selamat yesterday. 

I was shocked. There were at least two or three entrances which were either not manned by the City Council staff and people were walking in and out of the market building freely. Only at one end of the market was there a Council station where the MySejahtera QR codes were displayed and the temperature taken of people walking in. As could be expected there were only a few people walking in through this entrance while the inside of the building was....packed!

Yes, packed. There was no social distancing. Everyone was crowding everybody else, jostling for position at the stalls to buy their foodstuff, shoulder-to-shoulder with one another. We felt so distressed that we decided to leave then and there. I felt so upset that I forgot to take a few snapshots as evidence of the shoppers' lackadaisical attitude towards their own health. Moreover, if the City Council could not impose their control strictly on this market or have lost control over the situation there, I am not going to shop there ever!

And then in the evening, I learnt that there were 4,000-plus cases of the coronavirus reported nationwide. A record number of cases, although this record is nothing to be proud about. Selangor alone recorded more than a thousand cases but then, this figure is nothing new for the state. This is a worrisome statistic and fingers should be pointed towards the irresponsible people AND politicians who make this happen. I say politicians because if they continue to do stupid things like distributing free food to people who are not reminded about observing social distancing, the numbers are bound to increase. 

This actually happened in Putrajaya a few days ago. Politicians distributing free chicken to the people. But it is not only in Selangor that the situation may be getting out of hand. Penang island too has seen an unending surges in Covid-19 infections, in particular, Mukims 12 and 13. Mukim 12 is in the South-West District of the island while Mukim 13 is in the North-East District. They are adjacent to one another and that's why infections are so rampant there. But the infections are slowly and surely creeping northwards towards the city. It is becoming worrisome there.

I'm particularly worried because my daughter stays in Petaling Jaya and my son is in Glugor, both among the coronavirus hotbeds in the country. My frustration is that I am unable to drive across the Penang Bridge into the island, let alone travel all the way to Selangor. I can only hope that they are able to take good care of themselves by themselves until such time when travel restrictions are lifted.