COMMENT | Three Chinese nationals who previously had close contact with an infected person in Singapore were the first cases of Covid-19 reported by Malaysia on Jan 25, 2020, exactly one year ago.

The first local case was confirmed 10 days later, on Feb 4, 2020. He, too, acquired it whilst in Singapore, attending a conference.

He passed it to his younger sister, who became the first case of Covid-19 acquired by local transmission.

This was the first wave of Covid-19, which had a total of 22 cases.

It is pertinent to note another historical milestone in the Covid-19 pandemic. These were the events on Feb 24, 2020, which triggered the collapse of the legitimately elected Pakatan Harapan government.

Three days after the Sheraton Move, Malaysia experienced the second wave on Feb 27, 2020. There were no cases in the preceding 11 days.

Malaysia hosted the tabligh ijtima` (large gathering) in Kuala Lumpur from Feb 28 till March 1, 2020. The tabligh cluster has since become the single largest cohort of Covid-19 cases in the second wave (40%) and contributed...