Take heed of India’s Covid-19 tsunami, warns Dr Noor Hisham
The emergency proclamation here prevents elections, thus avoiding the same scenario that caused widespread infections in India, says health director-general.
PUTRAJAYA: Malaysians have been advised to take heed of the Covid-19 tsunami in India, and avoid a similar situation from occurring here, by strictly complying with the SOPs set by the government.
Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the sharp increase in the number of cases in India came following the government’s decision to loosen movement restrictions, after declaring that it had brought the pandemic under control earlier this year.
“Following the announcement, many in the country did not comply with the SOP when the flexibility was given. Gatherings took place at beaches, at religious ceremonies and at weddings.
“Besides that, India also held five state elections. They held a campaign involving 200,000 individuals without the use of face masks, nor any physical distancing.
“As a result, the infections began spreading,” he said at a press conference here yesterday.
India has recorded a total of 21.49 million cases so far, with 1.57 million new cases in just the past week.
Meanwhile, Noor Hisham pointed out how important it was for Malaysia to gazette the Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance 2021 in January, which provided that no elections should be held during the emergency period.
He said that with the Emergency Ordinance in place, three by-elections were not held, namely in Batu Sapi, Bugaya and Gerik, while the Sarawak state election will also be put on hold.
“If the by-elections and Sarawak elections were to be held, of course, there would be campaign rallies. So this is the government’s rationale in gazetting the Emergency Ordinance,” he said.
He added that if the Sarawak polls were held, any spread of new Covid-19 cases in rural areas would be a logistical nightmare for the health ministry staff.
“We do not have the capacity to reach out to such remote areas,” Noor Hisham said.
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Under the Emergency Ordinance, the general election, as well as state and by-elections, shall not be held during the emergency period until Aug 1.