YOURSAY | Covid dilemma – the economy or our health?

YOURSAY | ‘If we let all businesses to operate, eventually everyone will suffer.’

Lift MCO or businesses will die, pleads trade group

BigOrangeTunaFish: It’s too little too late for Malaysia. Since the advent of Covid-19, it has been obvious that we will be forced to choose between the economy of the country and the health of the rakyat.

Covid-19 might kill you if you get it. However, loss of income can also kill you if the situation is allowed to remain for too long.

Right from the start, the way to deal with the situation was to impose strict lockdown to save lives and resume economic activity thereafter.

It is naïve to "allow economic activity" while having the movement control order (MCO). Just because you allow businesses to operate (in accordance to a labyrinth of vague standard operating procedures [SOP]) does not mean that business owners will do fine.

Revenue has decreased so much that the businesses may as well be operating at a loss every day. Our policymakers must be very detached from reality to believe that they can alleviate the rakyat's problems by allowing businesses to operate while MCO is imposed to restrict movement.

Now we have around 5,000 cases daily and 48,000 active cases, the virus is not going anywhere. Sorry to say but we have failed to combat Covid-19.

Every few weeks we have an extension to the MCO as well as SOP changes that are hard to keep up with. Businesses are allowed to operate but people are told to stay at home. This is a 'neither here nor there' approach.

Law enforcement is anxious to scare us into obeying MCO with a show of force, and they do it by arresting village folk out to get essential supplies. Teachers have been forced to adopt e-learning methods without any training. Soon, university students will be allowed to return to campus on March 1 so that Covid-19 can spread even easier.

South Korea and Japan have declared national emergencies at a fraction of the Covid-19 cases we are facing. In China, a district and all its surrounding districts were put in military-enforced lockdown because one (yes, just one) person tested positive for Covid-19. It is far too late for Malaysia to follow this example.

As harsh as it may sound, I cannot see any other solution besides waiting for everyone to get vaccinated to develop herd immunity. Many will die in the meanwhile, and that is just too bad. You can thank the government for it.

Gaji Buta: Instead of simply asking to lift the MCO, business groups should present what they have done to make their premises safer for customers.

If you go into any small business, it still looks the same as before Covid-19. Aisles are narrow, only one cashier till and usually crowded, no sanitisation of baskets, counters and fridges, restaurants do not have partitions, barbers do not wear full personal protective equipment (PPE), etc.

The virus will be around for years, so fundamental changes to retail stores and eateries are needed to ensure safety of customers.

Kwimkwim: There are restaurants which practise strict SOPs. But even before the latest round of MCO, there were restaurants and many stalls which blatantly did not, where people continued to crowd and merrily eat cheek to jowl, like the whole SOP business was a joke.

Of course, if businesses can't operate or operate to some necessary extent, there is hardship all round. People need to provide for their families, pay mounting bills, etc. Relaxing the lockdown is a tough call, but it is inevitable.

It's time to mobilise the rakyat to help with enforcement. Immediately, the government must have a strong concerted campaign to rally the rakyat to report these offenders. Provide phone numbers and email addresses for reports to be made.

Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob can do his part in his daily announcements. And those ubiquitous SMSes we get from the government can finally do something sensible.

Plaster TV and radio with repeated rally calls to report offenders. And plaster lamp posts everywhere with the same, providing the contact numbers, etc.

Better still, give monetary rewards when the flouters reported are confirmed by site visits by the authorities.

Anonymous3467: If the number of cases is not controlled and let to rise, would you think people would want to come out to patronise pasar malam traders? If community transmission is not controlled, wouldn’t these pasar malam traders also fall victim to the disease too?

It is undeniable that this pandemic will cause the collapse of many businesses. But it is equally undeniable that this pandemic creates opportunities for new businesses too.

Isn’t it that all Covid-19 patients need food? The government could help these small traders by getting them into groups to cater meals for patients. You could have different groups to cater for different meals. This could be a source of income for them.

Some groups can also pack titbits for the patients. There could also be groups to cater for the frontliners as well. There are so many opportunities for the small traders only if opportunities are not monopolised by the super-rich and well-connected.

Many are whining about their business being badly hit by this pandemic because dine-ins are not allowed, but I have a friend whose home-based food business (which does not involve dine-in) is flourishing despite the pandemic.

BluePanther4725: If the MCO is lifted, more people will die. Without vaccination, a lockdown is the best way to curb the spread of the virus. The higher the number of cases, the higher the death rate, especially when there are not enough hospital beds and ventilators.

Don't gamble with death for the sake of money. Loss of jobs and money can be replaced, but loss of lives cannot be replaced.

The businesses should adapt and innovate to survive, and not at the expense of people's lives. We should spare a thought for all the healthcare workers working non-stop and risking their lives to treat the Covid-19 patients. They can't stop to rest.

People are more resilient than you think, they can survive the MCO but not the virus.

ManOnTheStreet: @BluePanther4725, you are obviously detached from reality just like the political elites.

While I share with you the respect we have of the struggles of the health frontliners (God bless them), your careless confidence that "people can survive the MCO" just shows how far you are from the reality of the man on the street.

Forget the big corporations for now (although their collapse will also have an impact on all their employees). Just walk on the streets with the burger seller, the food truck operator, the mamak shop owner, the rojak and chendol man… they will tell you the realities of their struggle and watching their children going hungry.

Velarooks: There's no win-win situation. Some will suffer and the government should look at aiding this group as best they can, and we the people must also help them in whatever way we can.

If we let all businesses to operate, eventually everyone will suffer.

Things like gyms, entertainment centres, cinemas, small indoor eateries (dine-ins), domestic tourism (in some areas), spas, etc, all of these businesses, in my opinion, can't operate at any capacity. It's just not feasible.

Of course, there are other businesses, with the right SOPs, which can be allowed to operate and this is where further thought needs to be done, but again, it's not for everyone.

Our mortality rates are still good compared to other countries but we can't push our luck with this. It is slowly climbing up already. A mutation could happen any minute, especially as cases are still high and things could spiral further out of control.

Moonwalker: The Perikatan Nasional government has no clue how to manage this pandemic. Many other countries have businesses open to public with stringent SOP and from time to time, review and revise the conditions like shorter operations hours.

Restaurants and even bars are open but have to close early. All establishments are up and running under normal operation. Yes, fine and punishment can be set in place if rules and regulations are not adhered to properly. Their businesses are still affected. But ours is in perpetual lockdown.

It has been repeated that lives and livelihoods are equally important. Even with MCO 2.0, the number of infections is still up. This means it does not work.

It is terribly sad to see small and big businesses suffering, especially the hawkers, burger stalls and most one-man food businesses just waiting for customers when most office workers have to work from home. How are they going to survive?

Just Want To Be Fair: Make it clear. As the Health Ministry mentioned, it will take a minimum six to eight weeks to bring down the infection rate. Just go for six to eight weeks of MCO. Not two weeks first and then add on another two, followed by two more and so on. This way businesses can plan and minimise the impact.

Businesses do take risk. But it’s a calculated risk. They need to know what’s the worst damage they can absorb.

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