YOURSAY | Why is the infectivity rate still hovering above 1?

Handphone data shows people venturing out at nearly pre-pandemic levels

Beman: My impression is that the many flip-flops in the Covid-19 SOPs (standard operating procedures) render them ineffective.

When new restrictions are introduced, people must be given some time to get used to them. But once introduced, they should not be lifted all at once or on a whim.

They should be observed and lifted gradually. You don't relax the restrictions completely and suddenly within a day or two just because Ramadan is around the corner, and/or the so-called R-naught number has dropped slightly from 1.01 to 0.99. Even when the R-naught is 0.99, the virus is still lurking around.

The virus does not care if you are celebrating your favourite festival or not. If you give it a chance to spread, it may very well take it. Discipline and wisdom are needed in tackling this pandemic.

Pokokelapa: The moment the control measures are relaxed, the more SOPs will be too. Nobody cares. The few who care are questioned.

Many do not even register at sales outlets. ‘Pasar malam’ is worse. Now we have Ramadan bazaar and Raya shopping and further relaxation for ‘balik kampung’. We are looking at the fourth wave.

Herd immunity is just not going to happen, not only in Malaysia but around the world too. The rate of vaccination is too slow. The numbers are falling short.

Children and the young are not vaccinated. The effectiveness of some vaccines is in question. The variant strains are adding to the problem. Many have been reinfected.

If everything were to end well, the virus will just be part of life and the cycle of continuous vaccination, like for seasonal influenza, will be the only possible end to this pandemic when it becomes endemic.

Another Clown: I shop at Tesco once a week, always on a weekday morning just to avoid the crowds. Yesterday was Tuesday and I was at Tesco at 11am, two hours later than usual. Yes, the crowds have returned, maybe because of Ramadan shopping.

If MySejahtera is being monitored, the government should know from their data. Instead of constantly crying over the infectivity rate being over 1 and hoping it will go away soon, what has the government done?

Interstate travel restrictions have been in place since January, and Parliament is suspended, why is the infectivity rate still hovering above 1?

Obviously, the government's action or inaction is at fault. Stop blaming the rakyat for being impatient.

Open Mind: No interstate travel allowed yet and the people are everywhere without any fear of infection. With the lifting of more restrictions, such as eateries allowed to operate from midnight to 6am, more people will be spending time out socialising than staying at home.

It looks like the Health Ministry has given up. The number of testing has also reduced lately from a high of 55,000 a day to 30,000 now.

Let’s keep our fingers cross and pray that there will not be a fourth wave.

BlackLynx9528: This Malaysiakini report is not at all a surprise.

In George Town and all along the north coast roads of Penang island (still under CMCO), out-of-state cars are in evidence in large numbers. At recent weekends, the north coast beaches have been packed with little evidence of social distancing.

Clever Voter: Many are bored stiff, so staying at home is the last option. Many are probably walking freely at open parks, shopping centres, and the majority would comply with the minimum but not social distancing.

The authorities have given up, judging by the increased traffic along the main highways, and they too are no longer keen to enforce the rules.

Even the MPs are not showing good examples, many hold this belief that vaccines are the cure. How wrong can they be.

Rb: There will be a fourth wave and I fear it will be bad.

But offices are also at fault for insisting people work on-site when they can WFH (work from home). No one is following SOPs. Ventilation systems are not being improved and people still sit close together. There is no staggered or rotation work either.

Concern Malaysian: The long Covid-19 is never reported in Malaysia - is it because they are scared that this will affect the economy?

Imagine someone in their 20s and 30s with high education level unable to work as normal people due to this. What is the economic loss of such incidents?

People should be scared and not venture out for this reason as well.

GrayGoose8208: I think the government has lost the plot. A band-aid approach to managing the most serious pandemic our country has ever faced is killing confidence so fast that no one should doubt where this is heading.

The Sabah election triggered by PN wrestling to gain power will forever be remembered as the cause of much misery in our country instigated by our worst PM ever.

My dearest Malaysian ‘kawan-kawan’ (friend), please rise again to vote PN out at the next election.

It is actually now easier to justify removing the current government than the previous kleptocratic regime. Who would have imagined that to be the case?

PanMunJon: What does one expect? There have been unending flip-flops from the government and different enforcement rules for some. Few can differentiate MCO from CMCO, and RMCO from EMCO, etc, and frankly, few care.

Border travel restrictions are a joke. The one place that needs to open, the Parliament, is closed - MCO ad infinitum.

2 Cents: When the government said "almost all sectors are allowed to operate", isn't this what the government wants? What's the point of allowing almost all sectors to operate when you expect everyone to stay at home?

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