By Joe Fernandez
IT IS somewhat mystifying that Sabah has also come under the national lockdown imposed by Putrajaya for an initial two weeks from June 1.
Sarawak had 500+ virus cases at presstime but may have wisely decided against complying buta buta (blindly) with the national lockdown. These are contradictions in terms.
Sabah and Sarawak, being geographically isolated from Malaya, should probably never come under any national lockdown. It imposes unbearable hardship on the people. Almost no one is heeding their cries.
In Brunei, sandwiched between Sabah and Sarawak, there’s no national lockdown. It’s not possible to play politics with the pandemic in Brunei.
In Malaysia, the pandemic will probably never end until GE15 in 2023. Already, a PKR member in Sarawak has been nabbed for “insulting” Agong. It may not be an isolated case. This appears as the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
Diehard Sabah fan Tony Fernandes of AirAsia once said in LinkedIn that the SOP alone would suffice to manage and control the pandemic. The MySejahtera App, which not all citizens have downloaded, can track and monitor pandemic risks especially by crowding. It’s crowding at the community level that transmits and spreads the virus.
Tony F favours vaccination.
Lindung diri (protect self) may be true, but lindung semua (protect all) may be taking liberties with the truth.
The jury is not out on what the vaccine can and cannot do. It does not prevent the new COVID-19 variant from entering the body of the vaccinated. Vaccination does not prevent the vaccinated from passing the virus to another vaccinated person.
There’s a case for Sabah and Sarawak against buta buta following Putrajaya and Malaya. The top down approach does not work in the two Borneo territories. The bottom up approach, spearheaded by local governments, is better placed to manage and control the pandemic.
There must be leadership in Sabah and Sarawak on the pandemic. This is where both states fall apart. The lack of leadership, coupled with the absence of political will in Putrajaya, has also denied both states on Borneo rights.
Anyway, let’s not go there. That’s another story, for another day when there’s nothing much on TV.
Patently, in two weeks, virus cases in the Land Below the Wind will be down to double digits. Then, in the absence of the much discussed herd immunity acquired by 40% to 70% of the population being vaccinated, the cases could flare up again.
Some crowding cannot be avoided. There may be new clusters, surges and waves. Deja vu! This has happened many times in Sabah, and Sarawak, since the pandemic began.
Even one infected person can result in a new lockdown. Even one infected person anywhere in the world can keep the pandemic going. CV-19 is a contagion.
Vaccination merely helps buy more time. Hopefully, the new COVID-19 variant, which were said to have been made in a test tube, will have no place to go.
In that case, it will die out. Apparently, the variant appears more lethal to the immune system. It unleashes a multiplicity of symptoms labelled as CV-19.
There are many treatments available for these symptoms. According to current figures, depending on the viral load, more than 99% of those with the symptoms recover.
The lockdown has only one purpose: To prevent the public healthcare system collapsing and imploding in the wake of clusters, surges and waves brought about by the pandemic.
It’s not rocket science that the three lockdown underway, one after another, will help bring down the number of virus cases reported, even if Emergency didn’t. It will certainly prevent the public healthcare system collapsing and imploding.
In any case, the hospitalisation phenomenon has only been feared but never been experienced by any country before or after the pandemic began.
The public healthcare system even in India for example, which recorded 400,000 cases a day two weeks ago, did not collapse and implode. The hospitals in certain red zones may have experienced great distress but they never gave up and went home.
This raises a question: Can the public healthcare system in any country ever collapse and implode in the face of even a pandemic.
My thesis statement, as a former senior Biology teacher among others, is that it cannot.
My sub-thesis statement is that the economy and politics can collapse and implode if we don’t have a way forward on the pandemic. There must be thinking on the subject for a final solution which will embrace future pandemics as well.
Hospitals, and the public healthcare system, it stands to reason, will always adjust as the patients come in. I am told that even those with breathing difficulties caused by CV-19 for example, can be sent home to recover provided they have two oxygen cylinders with them all the time.
According to the medical literature, CV-19 is a respiratory illness, the like of which has never before been experienced. It’s a contagion as well entering the body through the mouth, nose and eyes from the hands. That’s where regular hand washing and sanitisation comes in.
Let’s focus on economic recovery and life, for want of a better term, adapting to the pandemic. – June 4, 2021
Joe Fernandez is a long-time Borneo watcher and a FocusM contributor.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
