YOURSAY | 'Why wasn’t the temporary entry ban imposed when Wuhan was placed into lockdown?'

M'sia temporarily bars entry of China citizens from Wuhan, Hubei

Falcon: Too little too late! Worse than any threatening virus, perhaps, is the incompetence, political stubbornness and arrogance, which have put lives at risk.

More so, when the Wuhan mayor went on record saying that five million people had left Wuhan, before travelling out of the city was restricted, leaving nine million people still living there.

We wonder where they are now.

Spinnot: The five million have not "fled" Wuhan. The coronavirus was first detected on Dec 30 and the lockdown took effect on Jan 23.

The five million who have left the city between these dates is consistent with the number (48 percent) of the city's residents who left the city during the Chinese New Year in 2019 (holiday travel this year officially began on Jan 10).

As of now, only around 4,000 of the five million are outside mainland China.

Bd: Why wasn’t the temporary entry ban imposed when Wuhan was placed into lockdown?

It looks like actions are always taken after “nasi sudah jadi bubur” (rice has become porridge). We will always receive a stock answer when authorities are questioned.

Was the revenue from tourism more important than the life and limb of the rakyat? It is really disappointing.

Warrant Addict: Better late than never.

Pokokelapa: Finally! What was the wait for?

The World Health Organization (WHO) only speaks with the facts they have. They were misled and were not quick enough to act four weeks ago.

They are still sitting on it despite the quick spread of the infection to now 50 confirmed cases in 13 places outside China.

The coronavirus is contagious even before symptoms appear and China's health minister said on Sunday that this complicates efforts to contain the outbreak.

It’s time we close the borders to all Chinese tourists, at least until things are under control in China.

The reason to do so is very clear.

Even with the lockdown, the number of infections is increasing in China. It is a bit too late. They have already said the situation is very serious and worrying.

Our nation is at a higher risk than the threat of terrorism. Please wake up.

Evin K: Yes, the action is clearly a moot one by the government, especially given that China has already done the same and have been expanding the range on bans from the originating point of exits themselves weeks ago.

Perhaps this announcement is simply to pacify the uninformed and the countless fear-and-panic mongers out there.

Kawak: The government should have acted faster. The ban should come just after the Chinese government locked down Wuhan.

There was a bit of ‘ding dong’ among the prime minister and the ministers. The cabinet should have met and decided as it involves people’s lives.

VP Biden: The Chinese government was reactive and acted very late to initiate a lockdown. The first case was reported in November 2019 and the lockdown was only declared on Jan 27.

The virus has since been exported to more than 10 countries. Malaysia has acted swiftly - within three days of the first case being reported in the country. Even Singapore was a tad slow.

The Malaysian government has done well. Those who politicise a global health issue are doing it for politics and not for the good of the nation.

The government of Malaysia has not blundered on this occasion. In fact, it has acted based on facts and the situation to the best of its ability, which is better than China and Singapore’s reaction to this health emergency.

Solo: Does that mean Singapore can no longer dump their Wuhan cases in Johor?

Singapore “allowed” family members of positive cases to travel out of the country instead of placing them in quarantine for 14 days.

This was the case of the first three infections detected in Malaysia as they were family members of a Chinese national (all tourists) who were tested positive for the virus while he was in Singapore and hospitalised there.

Falcon: There is news that experts of the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention have successfully isolated the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in the environmental samples of a seafood market in Wuhan, indicating that the virus stems from wild animals on sale at the market.

Let us pray that a speedy medical antidote is found to help those affected.

Anonymous_1578: Everyone who has been to China and returned home as well as those visiting from China must be quarantined.

That is the more effective way to stop the spread of the disease.

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