LETTER | Take social distancing seriously

LETTER | Italy, Poland, Belgium, New Zealand, Thailand and 200 more countries are affected by the pandemic outbreak, Covid-19, which recorded its first case in Wuhan, China. Each of the countries has its own containment and response strategy towards this coronavirus, while the inevitable shared option is social distancing. In the race to research and produce the cure to this pandemic, social distancing is the best tool to reduce the risk of being exposed to the coronavirus.

As of today, 75 countries, including Malaysia, have decided to impose a curfew, lockdown, movement control or restriction to keep their citizens off the streets to stay home and stay safe. These restrictions have a common goal to ensure social distancing is enforced and prevent the coronavirus or any pathogen from spreading from one person to another.

The importation and human-to-human transmission of Covid-19 can be through sneezing and coughing. When someone coughs or sneezes, they spray small liquid droplets from their nose or mouth which may contain the virus. Within a close radius, we can breathe in the droplets, including the Covid-19 virus if the person coughing has the disease.

However, what exactly is social distancing?

The most basic form of social distancing is maintaining a fixed distance from other people. Based on the announcement from the Ministry of Health Malaysia, they stated the same distance as per suggested by the World Health Organisation (WHO), which is to maintain at least 1 metre (3 feet) distance between yourself and others.

Nevertheless, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) describes social distancing as staying away from mass gatherings and keeping a distance of 2 metres (6 feet) about one body length away from other people. British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, who tested positive for the Covid-19 had also urged his citizens to stay 2 metres apart.

Other cities such as Toronto used a hockey stick and Florida, Sarasota, used a beach towel length as the measurement of social distancing. It gets more confusing as it could be, a new scientific study from the University of California – Los Angeles has found that the virus that causes Covid-19 remains for several hours to days on surfaces and in aerosols, whereas another study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology concluded coughs and sneezes could generate clouds of viral droplets of seven to eight metres.

Without imposing the movement restrictions, the people everyday activities will proceed as usual, and the human interaction of physical touch and handshake will be the easiest uncontrolled transmitter to millions of positive infection cases. Despite the restriction in place, the citizens are allowed to travel out to buy essentials goods to sustain their daily meals at a specific timing. As lesser stores are opened, it is crucial that measures are arranged in all operating shops, such as the social distancing and temperature check. Due to potentially large numbers of people carrying goods in a small area, it is advisable for the shops to tape down the 2 metres distance instead of 1 metre for the customers’ queue.

Humans are social animals with a fundamental need to belong, and the movement restriction has certainty disrupted our social lives in some ways. All the police force and 7,500 military personnel are deployed to the ground to manage the 405 roadblocks and 272 patrols. The second phase of movement control order in Malaysia may be due on April 14, 2020, and the average Covid-19 infection rate in the past 14 days is around 13% with an average daily of 160 new cases with an increasing number of testing.

It is indeed improving with the fighting effort of the frontliners and cooperation from the entire nation. The decision for extension of the movement control order is scheduled to be announced on April 10 and regardless of the decision, I urge everyone to maintain social distancing until we achieve the constant daily of zero new cases reported.

For those who are returning to the country, self-quarantine for 14 days is mandatory and the family members should fully cooperate with the authority. The excitement of meeting family members shall not be undermined over-risking anyone’s life.

This battle against the Covid-19 will cause immense damage to the world economy and many businesses across all sectors will fold, but remember our enemy is a peculiar coronavirus, not restrictions imposed nor social distancing.

Social distancing may never prevent 100% of transmissions but it is a proven tool to break the chain of transmission and by following these simple rules, individuals can play a critical role in slowing the spread of the coronavirus. Each of us is now carrying an additional responsibility, keep everyone around us safe by social distancing.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.