COMMENT | Putting to rest the fear of Covid-19 but not forgetting the lessons
COMMENT | It’s been exactly two weeks now that Malaysia has begun its direct transition from a pandemic to an endemic stage as far as Covid-19 is concerned. So, many strict SOPs have been either lifted or eased.
At the moment, I feel the most thankful for the relaxation of mask wearing. We don’t have to wear a mask if we are outdoors anymore. Although wearing it indoors is still compulsory.
It feels like such freedom being able to walk outside without having half your face covered (at last, God’s gift to the world, which is my rugged good looks, can now be enjoyed by everyone again!).
Now, when I go out...
COMMENT | It’s been exactly two weeks now that Malaysia has begun its direct transition from a pandemic to an endemic stage as far as Covid-19 is concerned. So, many strict SOPs have been either lifted or eased.
At the moment, I feel the most thankful for the relaxation of mask wearing. We don’t have to wear a mask if we are outdoors anymore. Although wearing it indoors is still compulsory.
It feels like such freedom being able to walk outside without having half your face covered (at last, God’s gift to the world, which is my rugged good looks, can now be enjoyed by everyone again!).
Now, when I go out, I purposely look for outdoor places to eat such as the mamak, where I get to park my car outside, walk outside and find a place to sit and drink outside, without ever having to bring a mask. The simple joys!
Another fun relaxation of the SOPs is that there is no longer contact tracing, which means we no longer have to check in wherever we go with the MySejahtera app. It feels so liberating not having to report on every place we go to. So much time is saved too when we don’t have to line up and scan with our phones everywhere we go.
It has only been two weeks, and only a few major SOPs have been lifted, yet, it feels like the world has changed. It almost feels like we’re back to normal, and to tell you the truth, personally, it feels like Covid-19 might not have even been real. It is like I just woke up from a bad dream and feeling relieved that it was just a dream and I am now back in reality.
We must not forget
But the reality is that Covid-19 did happen and it did hit the world hard. We are recovering but we must not forget what happened and remember all the lessons that we have learned.
Yes, we have lost millions of loved ones, family and friends. That has to be something that will hurt the most whenever we think back about this horrible pandemic. Human lives were lost and we must not forget.
The economic devastation was, and still is, huge. In a report written in Newsweek International recently, it stated that for every individual death, the United States suffered a loss of US$10 million in GDP (for that one loss of life).
It may seem cold to compare a human life with dollars, but the fact of the matter is that it does affect the world in such a way.
The different countries around the world must continue to be vigilant in case the pandemic makes a u-turn and rears its ugly head again, or even if a new pandemic hits us. We need to be prepared, from the medical and healthcare infrastructure we have to the ever-ready research that we must constantly continue so we can have the proper treatment or prevention.
The anti-vaxxers may be rejoicing now saying how they have managed to withstand the challenges of not having to be vaccinated. But the fact is that because of the many others who believe in vaccination, we have managed to transition into the situation that we are in now.
The majority has won, so far. But it doesn’t mean that we can hold out for long. The politicisation of vaccination needs to end.
Education is the key to solving this problem. We need to educate society and create awareness better about the fact that science and vaccination work.
Use the Covid-19 pandemic as a good case study of why this works and how those who negatively politicise it are wrong. When people are more aware, they can see through the negative politics of it all.
I’m glad that everything is starting to go back to normal and I am sure that many of us are very happy to be able to put the fear of the pandemic to rest. We have persevered and gone through the worst and we should be thankful.
But at the end of the day, we cannot be complacent and we cannot totally put it to rest. We have learned a lot, and we need to make sure that if and when something like this happens again, we are prepared to face it and not lose millions again.
ZAN AZLEE is a writer, documentary filmmaker, journalist and academic. He had waited so long for a change in the system and he is not willing to settle for a half-past-six change. And then the Sheraton Move happened. Visit fatbidin.com to view his work.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.
