Stay home: Covid-19 FAQs for Malaysians

Question: We weren’t doing too badly against Covid-19 but cases are spiking now. The last few days have been bad, with daily cases passing the 3,000 mark. What happened?

Answer: There are several reasons, pandemic fatigue being one of them. However, the most important reason is that everyone, including the government, became complacent and we let our guard down.

Q: How do I keep myself safe from Covid-19?

Stay at home

Q: But I need to work, so how can I stay at home?

Go to work then, but follow the three main preventive measures: ensure physical distancing, wear a mask, and wash your hands with soap and water as often as you need to. But after returning from work, stay at home.

Q: If I stay at home, who is going to go to the wet market and the supermaket to buy vegetables and groceries?

Go to the wet market and the supermarket but plan it in such a way that you minimise the number of visits. Instead of going everyday, go once in three days or once a week. The rest of the time, stay at home.

Q: But my family likes to eat fresh stuff because it’s healthier, so what do I do?

Vegetables and other foodstuff will stay fresh in the refridgerator for a few days. If you really need to buy daily, then have them delivered to your house.

Q: This will increase my expenditure. I already have food delivered to my house now and then. Who’s going to give me the extra money?

No one. You have to learn to budget better. If everyone cooperates and stays at home most of the time – at least for the duration of the current movement control order (MCO) – we can beat this contagion and return to almost normal. It will help if people get vaccinated.

Q: I’m hearing a variety of different things about the vaccines. Is it really safe to be vaccinated?

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says: “Millions of people have safely received Covid-19 vaccines. All of the approved Covid-19 vaccines have been carefully tested and continue to be monitored.” The Malaysian health authorities have assured that only safe and effective vaccines are being used.

Q: Can I go out as usual if I have been vaccinated?

No. Even if you get vaccinated you have to follow the three preventive measures and stay at home as much as possible.

Q: So why should I get vaccinated?

Medical experts say those who get vaccinated are less likely to suffer a severe attack of Covid-19 and may not need to stay in intensive care units or require ventilators. It may also help protect those around you, according to the US Centers for Disease Control.

Q: What is the best method of ensuring I don’t catch Covid-19?

Stay at home.

Q: Why is it important that I stay at home? And why is the MCO usually for two weeks or more?

To answer the first question, the SARS-CoV-2 virus can spread from an infected person’s mouth or nose in small liquid particles when they cough, sneeze, speak, sing or breathe.

The WHO says evidence suggests that the virus spreads mainly between people who are in close contact with each other, typically within 1 metre (short-range). A person can be infected when aerosols or droplets containing the virus are inhaled or come directly into contact with the eyes, nose, or mouth.

The virus, WHO adds, can also spread in “poorly ventilated and/or crowded indoor settings, where people tend to spend longer periods of time. This is because aerosols remain suspended in the air or travel farther than 1 metre (long-range). People may also become infected by touching surfaces that have been contaminated by the virus when touching their eyes, nose or mouth without cleaning their hands”.

That is why it is important to avoid crowded places and the best way to do this is to stay at home. That is also why washing hands frequently is a must. And that is also why we should all wear masks.

Regarding the second question, the incubation period for SARS-CoV-2 is from three to 14 days – which means the first symptom will likely appear four to five days after exposure. Experts say it has been found that 97.5% of those infected develop symptoms within 11.5 days.

They say the infectious period begins around two days before the onset of symptoms and persists for seven to 10 days after symptom onset. What this means is that an infected person can spread the disease to someone else even before symptoms arise in him.

That is the reason for the 14-day quarantine period and the various MCO periods. It is to stop the spread.

The virus needs a host to spread so if we limit our contact with people for two weeks to a month, we can bring down the number of cases. That is why it is important to stay at home.

Q: Why is the latest nationwide MCO over such a long period – from May 11 to June 7?

We need to break the chain of infection and a long period like this will give us a better chance of doing so.

Q: But Hari Raya Aidilfitri is a couple of days away. You don’t want me to celebrate ah?

Go ahead and celebrate but do it at home. You know that a mass exodus occurs just before Hari Raya day and if this were to be allowed, it will result in Covid-19 clusters everywhere and the healthcare system will collapse.

We can see what has happened or is happening in some other countries, such as India, and if we do not learn from it and take precautions, we would be signalling to the world that we are not very intelligent. We need to stop large gatherings at least for now.

Q: But Hari Raya is special. Many Muslims are looking forward to seeing their parents and celebrating it at their kampungs. Can it be a celebration if it is not done with family?

Yes it can, especially in a trying time like this. Anyway, modern technology allows us to see them and talk to them on our smartphones and other gadgets. If we can beat the disease, next year, or even later this year, everyone can start celebrating the various festivals.

Also, think of the doctors, nurses and medical staff who are working their hearts out to fight the pandemic and save lives; think of the policemen and other frontline staff risking infection to help us stay alive.

Q: But all this is a great inconvenience to me and my family. I have a life to live. How can you expect me to sacrifice so much?

Look at it this way: A little inconvenience now and then may open our eyes to new things and it can become a learning experience.

Anyway, don’t you think it is better to be inconvenienced than dead? Don’t you think it is better to sacrifice convenience than to sacrifice life? So stay at home.

Q: OK lah, OK lah, OK lah

Smart move.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not reflect those of FMT.

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Stay home: Covid-19 FAQs for Malaysians

Malaysia’s Covid-19 situation is worrying, with the death toll reaching 1,700 yesterday, after 17 new fatalities were reported. The total number of Covid-19 cases has reached 444,484. Here is a non-official FAQ.