‘Don’t let your guard down’

Not uplifting: Passengers ignoring social distancing by crowding into a lift at a shopping mall in Penang.

PETALING JAYA: As the global number of Covid-19 infections passed the 14 million mark, public health practitioners are cautioning people against letting their guard down when they are in public places.

Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah stressed that no one should be complacent about the pandemic because it was far from over and they must continue to follow the standard operating procedure (SOP).

“Success breeds complacency and complacency breeds failure. Our greatest fear is when we let our guard down.

“Please continue to comply with the SOP, as I have been reminding everyone at every opportunity, ” he said, adding that it was now the public’s obligation to break the Covid-19 transmission chain.

Malaysian Public Health Physicians’ Association has advised the public to take extra precautions in high-risk areas such as public gatherings and crowded places.

People should avoid markets, weddings, public events and shopping malls if they see that social distancing and SOP were not being practised, its president Datuk Dr Zainal Ariffin Omar said.

“As more people are now travelling, crowded areas are harder to avoid and in some places, sanitisers are not even provided.

‘’It is best to bring your own sanitiser, be more aware of maintaining social distancing, and if social distancing is not possible, one should wear a mask, ” he said.

Dr Zainal warned that the lax attitude from seeing low numbers of daily Covid-19 cases was dangerous because Covid-19 and asymptomatic carriers were still around.

“When meeting relatives in our kampung, we are accustomed to shaking hands. If we cannot avoid this, we should sanitise our hands right after contact, ” he advised.

Dr Zainal added that people should also avoid hugging and kissing even with friends and family.

Global Covid-19 cases exceeded 14 million yesterday, and although countries such as South Korea, Israel, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Spain and Portugal managed to reduce their cases, governments are reimposing stricter physical distancing rules and localised lockdowns as infections rise again.

Internationally, the Israeli government imposed weekend lockdowns where public gatherings of over 10 people are prohibited from 5pm Friday to 5am Sunday as Covid-19 infections rose in the country.

Public places such as shops, malls, retail markets, hair and beauty salons, libraries, zoos, museums and exhibition spaces, pools and tourist attractions will be closed.

In South Korea, a holiday weekend in early May triggered a new wave of Covid-19 cases in Seoul.

The municipal government of Gwangju, which had one of the lowest cases among major South Korean cities before, later closed schools and banned gatherings to curb infection.

Yesterday, the country reported 39 new infections with most of them tied to overseas arrivals and others from the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area.

South Korea now has 13,711 cases and 294 deaths.

Japan is also mulling the issuing of business suspension requests to certain nightclubs and reconsidering its allowance of up to 5,000 attendees at public events as the resurgence of Covid-19 hit its capital, Tokyo.

On Friday, Senior Minister (Security) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob reminded the public that the movement control order (MCO) and Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act were still being enforced, meaning Malaysians must still observe the SOP, including social distancing.

“We have been observing the people and many are behaving as if the MCO has been lifted.

“I would like to remind the public that it is still in place and so is its enforcement. If you do things against the SOP, action can and will be taken against you, ” he warned.

On Wednesday, police arrested 68 people, including 28 for pub and night club activities that are still prohibited under the recovery MCO.

The others were nabbed for failure to observe social distancing.

Having seen that social distancing is no longer being practised in many places, past president of the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) Dr Ravindran Naidu advised the people to strictly observe the SOP to prevent another wave of infections.

“People are beginning to let their guard down as time goes by. In many places, including restaurants, malls and public places, they no longer bother to follow the SOP.

“Around 60% to 70% of the people are not taking precautions, especially on social distancing, ” he said.

Ravindran warned people against going to restaurants, coffee shops, amusement parks and swimming pools that do not enforce the SOP.

“If these places comply with the SOP, it is fine.

“But as I said, people and management are beginning to be more relaxed about the rules, ” he said, adding that people should avoid travelling because this helped the spread of Covid-19.

“Many people may be silent carriers and with travel, the chances of spreading the virus will become higher and faster.” - Star