COMMENT | A time for recognition of Covid-19 deaths

COMMENT | Today marks the second anniversary of the first Covid-19 deaths in Malaysia. Sadly, on this day two years ago, two Malaysians died. A 60-year old pastor from Kuching, David Cheng, died along with a 34-year-old man in Johor.

Since then (through yesterday), 34,099 have died. Another 105 people died yesterday, with an average of 87 people dying from Covid daily this week alone. Of the total deaths, 7,128 are brought-in-dead (BID).

According to the Ministry of Health's website, 28 out of 100,000 persons died in the last six months. These figures only capture recorded deaths from the virus, not those who may have passed on from conditions brought on from Covid.

Malaysia is fortunate compared to many other countries, as her death numbers are comparatively low. They are comparatively lower due to the steps that the overwhelming majority in Malaysia took to care for each other, the life-saving government interventions on vaccination, heroic work of Malaysia's health workers and the limited traction of the anti-vaccination movement, at least in the early stages of the vaccination programme.

For the families and friends who have lost loved ones, however, the number they remember is the person they have lost. Lives have been shattered. Grief is ever-present, often debilitating. Caretakers, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends are no longer with us. Many children have been orphaned, with families losing their breadwinners.

The number of people affected by loss is not insignificant. Studies estimate