Covid-19: Kudos to the frontliners

Yesterday, it was reported that a married couple from China have recovered and were discharged from the Permai Hospital in Johor Baru. 

Photos and videos of the man and woman, the seventh and eighth Covid-19 cases in Malaysia, were shared, presumably with their consent, alongside the healthcare workers of the hospital.

At the time of writing, Malaysia has recorded 22 cases of Covid-19 infection. Out of that number, 15 are Chinese nationals, six are Malaysians and one sole American.

Out of these 22 cases, 15 have made full recovery and have been discharged from the hospitals where they were treated. This would mean that 68 percent of Covid-19 cases which were being treated in this country has fully recovered and discharged.

But even with this good news, the country must continue to remain vigilant. While things may look to be getting better in Malaysia, the virus continues to wreak havoc worldwide. Some experts say the numbers are reaching a peak, or have already peaked, while others are more pessimistic.

Our neighbours, Singapore, is also grappling with the virus. While the Singapore government appears to be doing well in dealing with Covid-19, the island nation-state is always more susceptible to such outbreaks owing to the fact that their population density is higher and more people use public transportation. 

Therefore, the joint working committee between our Health Ministry and Singapore’s Health Ministry to tackle Covid-19 is most welcome especially since there is a lot of movement between our borders.

Our border checks appear to be effective. The US citizen, a woman who was on the cruise ship MS Westerdam, tested positive for Covid-19 only after she and her husband landed in Malaysia from Cambodia.

She was one of the many from the cruise ship who had been cleared by authorities in Cambodia but she showed symptoms of the virus which were detected by the authorities here in Malaysia.

There are many more examples of the hard work and dedication of those at the vanguard in dealing with this virus outbreak. From the doctors and healthcare workers to immigration personnel at the borders and the cleaners who work tirelessly to clean public places.

Without them, we would be crippled in our fight against Covid-19. Though they have the unenviable task of being at the front line with the potential of being directly exposed to the virus, yet they soldier on with the task at hand.

When the virus was first detected in Malaysia sometime in January, there were many panicked reactions from the people, especially those in cyberspace. Some immediately cast doubts on our ability to deal with such a crisis, while others spread misinformation either through ignorance or malice.

Yet since then, our officials and front-liners have proven that they are more than capable in dealing with the Covid-19 outbreak. They have proven the detractors wrong and silenced the critics.

We are not out of the woods yet, but the actions of these officials and front-liners have restored the people’s faith in those tasked with dealing with the situation.

Let no one disparage their names again.

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SYAHREDZAN JOHAN is a civil liberties lawyer and political secretary to Iskandar Puteri MP Lim Kit Siang. - Mkini