Yoursay: Brace yourself for the Covid-19 tsunami

Yoursay | 'As with everything else in Malaysia, it's our execution that we fail at.'

Health DG warns of 'Covid-19 tsunami' if order ignored, ex-deputy DG pans poor planning

Missteps ahead of partial shutdown risk Covid-19 spiralling

Chicken Rice: I am completely speechless at how incompetent the government is. The purpose of the movement control order is containment and what the government has done is the opposite.

The order caused a mass panic due to the lack of transparency. It sent confusing and mixed messages to the public. There is also a lack of enforcement by the look of it.

People are rushing back to their home state. This is exactly what happened in Wuhan when the Chinese government let five million people leave the city and take the virus all over China and the rest of the world.

The Chinese government can spin it for all it likes, the great Wuhan ‘escape’ was the root cause of the global catastrophe.

It beggars belief that Malaysia is committing the very same mistake by causing a mass exodus of people. Let's pray that this is not going to become another Wuhan or Italy. It will be a terrible tragedy for Malaysia.

Cyclonus: I think we have to assume the third wave is going to happen as it is evident that we have some Malaysians who are selfish and inconsiderate to their fellow citizens.

Instead of practising the minimal measures of social distancing, they move around in complete oblivion to the consequences of their actions.

In future, our decision-makers and implementers must take into consideration the obtuse attitude of some Malaysians.

As with everything else in Malaysia, it's our execution that we fail at. While the objective is good, it is not well thought out, and the implementation and enforcement are poor.

When we saw this happening in China and emerging here in Malaysia in January, did we have an action plan drawn up with feedback from all ministries?

We had ample time back then, but we were too busy playing the game of thrones. In the meantime, our health/medical experts have been risking their lives and screaming at deaf ears.

This is what happens when we have politicians governing ministries that they have no expertise in or who do not have the aptitude to understand the gravity of the situation.

Anonymous_1544: I hate to say it, just prepare for the tsunami.

When you throw students out of hostels and ask them to go home, you are spreading the virus. When some leaders are telling their followers, after the Sri Petaling gathering, that whether you live or die is God's will and they refuse to be tested and are still in the community, you know that this is going to end badly.

We all have to ride this out together and, hopefully, learn useful lessons from it.

Unspin: The police need to strictly enforce this partial shutdown. They did the right thing by asking citizens who wanted to travel outstation to have police clearance. Then they backed off because the police stations were overwhelmed.

The police should reinstate the requirement of outstation permits immediately.

If people still rush to the police station when they should be staying at home, let them wait in the hot sun or rain. And if they are caught travelling outstation without any valid reasons, arrest them and lock them up. Once you do that to a few people, the rest will fall in line.

The inspector-general of police (IGP) needs to act now instead of just issuing warnings and not taking actions.

Sans Prejudice: Even as most Malaysians are heeding the advice, the disturbing question is how effective is the call for those who attended the recent massive religious event to present themselves for testing?

I think the cajoling and pleading is over. The authorities should now hunt them down with whatever attendance records or intelligence gathered that is available.

In the Reuters report, some who attended have allegedly refused testing because they believe God will take care of them. When will the religious leaders come out into the open and command them to be tested?

Muhibah 76: It should be a total lockdown for two weeks and then impose restrictions for another two weeks if you want to control the pandemic.

The one week without a government and effective public policy has brought us to this position. Now this half-hearted weak response. A tsunami is an understatement

Anonymous_16760: Look at their sheer incompetence just to deliver a simple yes/no to the question of should students go home:

1. Cannot go home.

2. School closed. All must go home.

3. Can go home or can stay. Up to you.

4. Can go home if got police approval.

5. No police approval also can go home.

6. Siaran tergendala, tunggu sebentar (broadcast interruption, please wait a moment).

And that’s just one question they can’t even answer decisively.

Speaking Sense: I am supposed to be quite well-educated but even I am not sure exactly what the movement control order is, especially with all the vague and revisionary advice coming from different sectors.

How come no one thought to have only one central authority to spell out exactly what we can do and cannot do and the purpose behind it all. If only we could understand it, I am sure all Malaysians will be more than willing to comply with doing their part.

Anonymous_15487: The Health Ministry ran without a minister at the helm for nearly two weeks. Thanks to former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Sheraton Move coordinator Azmin Ali and PM Muhyiddin Yassin.

Malaysians now have to pay the high price with the tanking economy and people’s lives for their deeds.

Fuminghot: Health director-general, I pity you. You seem to be working single-handedly. Having a health minister under Perikatan Nasional is as good as not having one.

Kudos to you and your team of doctors - the frontliners. Please keep the rakyat informed at all times. We can only depend on you and no one else.

Clever Voter: The fragility of any society is tested in a crisis situation. Malaysia is no exception.

The pandemic ignores race or religion. The risk of putting public health in danger is simply too high unless there are coercive actions in place.

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