GEORGE TOWN – The National Security Council must reimpose a full and total nationwide lockdown, similar to the first movement control order (MCO) early last year, to battle the latest Covid-19 wave, says Penang PKR’s vice-chairman.
“There is a need to go all out to contain this outbreak, which is deadlier due to the variants and inability to expedite the vaccination rate,” said Jason Ong Khan Lee.
“We did it before in the first wave. We can do it again, but we need new strategies.
“A total lockdown shuts down the country with only essential economic activities allowed, unlike now where, despite a lockdown, most businesses are continuing to operate while cases continue to touch almost 5,000 with a record number of deaths,” Ong said.
Ong said a full lockdown will give the health authorities time to regroup and begin the necessary measures to stem the tide of infections.
Alongside a total lockdown, Ong proposed that a mass testing campaign also be conducted and efforts to double the vaccination rate be made.
“Anyone found positive must be self-isolated.”
If there is a full lockdown, Ong said the federal government should use all its networking expertise to procure as many vaccines as possible for Malaysia.
Ong said he was compelled to raise these proposals after reading that the virus had claimed the life of prominent real estate consultant Michael Geh Thuan Peng in the media yesterday.
“If someone like Geh can die from it, the virus is as real as it can be, and we need to fight it better in tribute to Geh, who was a one-of-a-kind property consultant in Penang.
“The economy may have to suffer but it is better than having a population decimated by Covid-19.”
Ong also urged the government to use the state of emergency to recall retired doctors and specialists to help the health authorities battle the pandemic, saying the main job of the government is to contain the virus and not expedite their political goals.
“We must acknowledge the damage it has done to the overall healthcare sector as medical practitioners have become downtrodden and depressed fighting an unseen enemy.”
His views were supported by former PKR deputy secretary-general S. Raveentharan, who said that a total lockdown is the best way to counter the new Covid-19 variants.
“At the rate that we are going, the government may not have any people to rule over if the virus continues to attack the population.
“Nobody is safe. It is no longer just the old but the young alike,” he said.
He said that the loss of life should not be treated as trivial, and the burden of treating and consoling victims’ families must not only be dealt with by frontliners but also policymakers and politicians. – The Vibes, May 16, 2021
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