COMMENT | MCO relaxation - too much, too soon?

COMMENT | Thank God, we can get outta jail. No, it’s too soon, beware a second Covid wave. These polar opposites sum up how people feel about the MCO being largely lifted on May 4.

Some say that the concerns of businesses trumped over the need for health caution. But it’s a tough call. As long as no cure or vaccine has been found for Covid-19, there is always the risk that just one infected person can spark a new outbreak. Yet, keeping the MCO going indefinitely is not an option either.

How do we balance the costs of massive economic turmoil with saving lives? Is it worth risking 10 lives to save 100,000 jobs? 20 lives? It’s a hard decision. For comparison, 23 out of 100,000 Malaysians die in traffic accidents every year but that does not make us close down our roads.

The economic costs are mounting. Right now, about 500,000 people are unemployed.

The Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (Mier) warned that job losses could go up to 2.4 million if the MCO continues.

Has the curve flattened? New daily virus cases in the first week of MCO numbered between 110 to 212. For the last week of April, it was between 31 to 94...