Just Stay At Home

Malaysia went into a partial lockdown from today until 31/3/2020.

What it means is that while people are free to move around, they are strongly advised to stay indoors. Malaysians should only go out to buy daily necessities.

However, Malaysians are not doing so.

Look, I belong to the minority that finds this fear wildly exaggerated and blown out of proportions. Lots of diseases are always spreading constantly and people are dying on a daily basis from something as mild as a flu. It is not announced because when something happens on a daily basis, the people lose interest and it therefore is not newsworthy. Just look at H1N1 in 2009. People were so scared, and Malaysia reported deaths daily, until when the deaths reached 80+, MOH just decided to stop reporting because the virus had spread out of control and people were dying at a pace too quick to tally. After all, interest and fear waned, and live went back to normal, even though the virus was still spreading and people were still dying from H1N1.

The same is happening now. The difference is there was no social media then, and even though the situation was actually much worse in 2009, this social panic did not occur.

COVID-19 will spread uncontrolled, and people will die. But we just have to wait until the psychological fear subsides. It is not a matter of whether this will happen. It's when.

In Singapore, despite skyrocketing cases, people already move out and not wearing masks. Because what matters here is psychology.

Plus, evidence points COVID-19 is on the same severity as H1N1. It isn't like SARS, or MERS (which I believe majority of people do not know about). Hence, it defies logic that the same outbreak involving virus of the same severity entail two wildly different public response.

Yet, again, I recognise I belong to a minority.

We live in a society. That being said, we therefore would have conflicts and difference in opinions.

It's true that while the majority of us would just display mild symptoms or even asymptomatic, there are people who have grandparents at home that are highly vulnerable. While the vulnerability exists even before COVID-19 spreads, and thanks to COVID-19, the awareness is much higher although stupidly displayed, it doesn't mask the fact that they can still catch the virus and die.

Therefore, it is essential you remain at your home when this partial lockdown is announced.

Don't be selfish.

We may disagree with the action, but bear in mind there are a few who really cannot catch this virus.

I don't like this order, in fact, I do not agree with this order at all. But since it already is being enforced, and if staying at home can prevent even one death, then just stay at home.

So please, just stay at home.

You don't want this lockdown to be extended.

By then, our economy could also be so badly brutalised, we cannot go back to pre-COVID-19 level.

The world is already in a mess, just be patient for 2 weeks.

Malaysians, please stay at home.

I'm not worried about how the virus is going to kill. I'm extremely concerned about the psychological toll it has on people.