A NEW COVID-19 subvariant – the Omicron XBB – is in our midst, and as the country inches closer to the 15th General Election (GE15), the idea of going to polls while the coronavirus is raging around us is a worrying one.
With nomination day is just one day away, this is indeed déjà vu all over again as one cannot help but be reminded of the dramatic spike in COVID-19 cases during the months leading up to the Sabah state elections back in Sept 2020.
In case anyone needs a reminder, here’s a refresher: the number of cumulative cases in the state was 808 on nomination day and increased by 91.5% to 1,547 cases on polling day on Sept 26.
Four weeks later on Oct 24, Sabah recorded 11,285 cumulative cases, becoming the first state in the country to record more than 10,000 cases.
Up till Wednesday (Nov 18), Sabah had recorded 24,269 cases and 181 deaths.
With tomorrow being an important day in the run-up to GE15 on Nov 19, just how many more will test positive in the days leading up to – and after – is anyone’s guess.
There is already grounds for grave concern as the country had recorded a whopping 4,711 new cases yesterday (Nov 3), which brings the total number of COVID-19 infections in the country to 4,914,557 cases since the pandemic began.
This is the highest number of new cases reported since Aug 13.
Urging caution, caretaker Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin had recently taken to social media to remind people to keep their face masks on in crowded and enclosed areas as a new COVID-19 wave sweeps the nation.
“We are experiencing a wave of infections. Whether the wave is big or small depends on our actions,” he said in a post on his official Twitter account.
But here’s the thing about precaution: it is really easier said than done, isn’t it?
Attending ceramah after ceramah to lend support to your favourite politician sounds like a recipe for disaster at this point, as does mingling with the crowd at polling stations on polling day.
Prior to this, Khairy had said the nation was experiencing a small wave of COVID-19 cases due to the Omicron XBB subvariant, with infections expected to go up in the next few weeks to between 3,000 and 5,000 cases with the crest of the wave coinciding with GE15.
But here’s a more troubling question: Just how many more will test positive in the days leading up to Nov 19, and will GE15 be the prelude to a greater health catastrophe to come? – Nov 4, 2022
