Lifting The MCO On Monday 4th May 2020

Uplifting the MCO

The business community, which really makes the world go round, is relieved that the MCO is being almost fully lifted on all sides.  I agree with them. We will be opening for business as well but with some restrictions. 

But business really has to get back on its feet.  As the Prime Minister said the country is losing RM2.4 billion per day everyday that it is shut down. 

So what happens to those 100,000 applications that were submitted to the MITI for business reopening?  People went through some effort and anxiety preparing and submitting those applications. They may have spent some money too. They certainly spent time. It is all redundant now.  

Perhaps another "small matter" but the point is the government should provide certainty in matters.  Certainty because these things are within the governments control. 

SOCIAL DISTANCING

The social distancing is not going to happen. 

How can you have social distancing in day care centers for little kids? 

Does that 1.5 metres really work? I don't think so.

You can stand 1.5 metres apart but do you bring a measuring tape with you? 

Is it exactly 1.5 metres? 

And what if there is a wind blowing in any direction? 

If there is wind blowing any virus can be easily transported more than 1.5 metres. 

Or if there is a wall fan blowing? For example those huge and powerful wall fans that can be found at the LRT stations, restaurants and at many other public places. They can blow the virus all over the place. Turn off the fans? Not really a solution. 

There is no exact science on how many metres but if you ask me I would say three metres or more. Meaning not less than 10 feet apart. But even the 1.5 metres is causing major issues for people lining up at supermarkets, at the markets etc. There is not enough space to stand 1.5 metres apart. Imagine increasing it to three meters.

So I don't think social distancing is going to work.

The people (that's us folks) have to really speed up implementing our own social hygiene and public hygiene. We have to become like the Japanese and South Koreans instantly. 

Wear masks all the time. Cover your hair. Hair has a massive surface area and acts like a brush.  Not only will it pick up viruses but it will also dust the virus everywhere. And if you wear yards and yards of cloth that flaps in the wind it will possibly have the same effect. I agree there is no exact science on this but it is going to be up to us individuals to care for ourselves and for the community around us.

Washing hands with soap many times must become the norm.

Hand sanitisers and disinfectants go without saying. 

But may I suggest DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING THAT YOU DONT HAVE TO.

Do not touch the handrails at the stations, airports, staircase, hotels etc. Do not place your hands on the table in the restaurants and at the supermarkets do not touch the things that you will not be buying.

DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING UNNECESSARILY. 

No shaking hands.

And that video has shown that the louder people speak, the further out the aerosols from their breath spread out. Ini common sense lah - to speak louder we push more air out of our lungs and at a faster pace. That is how the volume control works in humans. So the louder we speak the more aerosols our lungs will create - more viruses can be spread farther. So please control your voices and the volume. 

I believe these are the behaviours, habits, precautions (this is not exhaustive, you may other ideas as well) that each individual must observe to stop the virus from resurging again once the MCO has been lifted.

In other words all the regulations in the world are not going to help much. There is no law that can make you wash your hands or stop you from shaking hands with each other. Or from touching a bottle of Coke on the shelf which you are NOT going to buy. 

We have to self regulate. The Japanese have become exemplary at self regulating their social and public hygiene. 

They have achieved this level through education and raising the public's awareness on hygiene and cleanliness right from primary  school.  What is called social investment.

It is never too late to catch up with our neighbours. Lets try to outdo them. We can be better.