A Week At Home During the COVID-19 Outbreak.
When I heard of the news of a virus from China, I honestly didn’t think it could affect someone like me all the way in Malaysia. I’ve been through the times when the world was facing epidemics like H1N1, Ebola, and Zika, and it never changed my life in any way. Even when the SARS outbreak was happening, the most I did was stay at home because they had schools closed down.
But the news of the coronavirus slowly became more frequent. It wasn’t long until cases started popping in other states of China, and then in other countries. In just a month or two, Malaysia wasn’t spared too.
When the number of cases was well below 100 in Malaysia, I still wasn’t that worried. While others are wearing surgical masks in panic, I thought people were overreacting. They weren’t even that effective in protecting yourself against the virus. But while I was still going about my daily routine, I could see the subtle panic taking over my country.
It wasn’t until I heard of people around the KL area being tested positive of COVID-19 that I've started to worry. These people weren’t necessarily nearby my workplace, and they weren’t directly within my social circle, but they were too close for my comfort.
I still took the train and went to work, but I avoided touching handlebars or any surface as much as I can. I washed my hands more often than usual and I took a hand sanitiser with me everywhere I go.
On March 11th, WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak as a global pandemic.
At this point in time, I told my mom that I wish I could work from home. But at the same time, I hoped the situation in Malaysia won’t get too severe to the point where I need to work at home. I don’t know if my wish was granted, but my boss told us to work from home starting from March Friday the 13th.
On March 16th, our newly-formed government delivered a big announcement: Malaysia will be under Movement Control Order (MCO) starting from March 18th. All non-essential businesses are required to close, and everyone should stay at home.
It was supposed to last two weeks, but on March 25th, it was announced that the MCO would extend to April 14th. I understand everyone's frustration with the announcement, but I think it's a necessary action since Malaysia now has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in SEA.
It’s only been a week and a few days but I see a lot of people struggling with the movement order. Fortunately for my family and I, we’re not that outgoing so we’re still coping so far. As I'm typing this, I have been cooped in my home for more than a week, and I haven't seen other people's faces other my family members. I still feel fine, but I do miss the sandwich near my workplace.
Never in my life would I expect myself to through all these events in 2020. I’ve only heard about pandemics like the bubonic plague in the 13th century, and now I am experiencing one in 2020. I still can’t believe how the world ended up in a situation like this.
I’ve always thought that the world is slowly going down in flames as I got older. The severe pollution all over the world, the never-ending wars in poverty-stricken countries, the fact that the US elected Donald Trump as a president. But I also try to remind myself that I wasn’t living during World War II or the bubonic plague.
It’s easy to think our life sucks, that the whole situation sucks, but at the same time we’re still more fortunate than our ancestors. So now I’m stuck in this limbo where I don’t know if our world is going to be alright.
It feels really unsettling to not know what is going to happen in the future with this outbreak. Malaysia still has a weeks to go with the movement control order, but will our country be able to take control of the situation by then? How long will the movement control order continue? When will this outbreak end? What happens after the outbreak ends?
I have never felt so uncertain about the future of our world. Our society has progressed so much from our ancestors, yet it feels like we’re still not prepared for many things. If something else as devastating as the COVID-19 outbreak happens again, how will humanity react?
---
I hope everyone understands the severity of the situation in Malaysia. Even though our health minister is giving false advice about drinking warm water, everyone needs to know that staying at home is the best way to fight against this outbreak. It’s the least you could do to help the people fighting the virus at the front lines.
I can’t believe people can be so selfish at this moment of crisis. Medical staffs around Malaysia are working hard to treat people, yet there are inconsiderate people out there that lie and ignore instructions just to get whatever they want. They don’t seem to realise their selfish actions can lead to people’s death in our current situation.
I don’t know who is reading this and who NEEDS to read this but please,
But the news of the coronavirus slowly became more frequent. It wasn’t long until cases started popping in other states of China, and then in other countries. In just a month or two, Malaysia wasn’t spared too.
When the number of cases was well below 100 in Malaysia, I still wasn’t that worried. While others are wearing surgical masks in panic, I thought people were overreacting. They weren’t even that effective in protecting yourself against the virus. But while I was still going about my daily routine, I could see the subtle panic taking over my country.
It wasn’t until I heard of people around the KL area being tested positive of COVID-19 that I've started to worry. These people weren’t necessarily nearby my workplace, and they weren’t directly within my social circle, but they were too close for my comfort.
I still took the train and went to work, but I avoided touching handlebars or any surface as much as I can. I washed my hands more often than usual and I took a hand sanitiser with me everywhere I go.
On March 11th, WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak as a global pandemic.
At this point in time, I told my mom that I wish I could work from home. But at the same time, I hoped the situation in Malaysia won’t get too severe to the point where I need to work at home. I don’t know if my wish was granted, but my boss told us to work from home starting from March Friday the 13th.
On March 16th, our newly-formed government delivered a big announcement: Malaysia will be under Movement Control Order (MCO) starting from March 18th. All non-essential businesses are required to close, and everyone should stay at home.
It was supposed to last two weeks, but on March 25th, it was announced that the MCO would extend to April 14th. I understand everyone's frustration with the announcement, but I think it's a necessary action since Malaysia now has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in SEA.
It’s only been a week and a few days but I see a lot of people struggling with the movement order. Fortunately for my family and I, we’re not that outgoing so we’re still coping so far. As I'm typing this, I have been cooped in my home for more than a week, and I haven't seen other people's faces other my family members. I still feel fine, but I do miss the sandwich near my workplace.
Never in my life would I expect myself to through all these events in 2020. I’ve only heard about pandemics like the bubonic plague in the 13th century, and now I am experiencing one in 2020. I still can’t believe how the world ended up in a situation like this.
I’ve always thought that the world is slowly going down in flames as I got older. The severe pollution all over the world, the never-ending wars in poverty-stricken countries, the fact that the US elected Donald Trump as a president. But I also try to remind myself that I wasn’t living during World War II or the bubonic plague.
It’s easy to think our life sucks, that the whole situation sucks, but at the same time we’re still more fortunate than our ancestors. So now I’m stuck in this limbo where I don’t know if our world is going to be alright.
It feels really unsettling to not know what is going to happen in the future with this outbreak. Malaysia still has a weeks to go with the movement control order, but will our country be able to take control of the situation by then? How long will the movement control order continue? When will this outbreak end? What happens after the outbreak ends?
I have never felt so uncertain about the future of our world. Our society has progressed so much from our ancestors, yet it feels like we’re still not prepared for many things. If something else as devastating as the COVID-19 outbreak happens again, how will humanity react?
---
I hope everyone understands the severity of the situation in Malaysia. Even though our health minister is giving false advice about drinking warm water, everyone needs to know that staying at home is the best way to fight against this outbreak. It’s the least you could do to help the people fighting the virus at the front lines.
I can’t believe people can be so selfish at this moment of crisis. Medical staffs around Malaysia are working hard to treat people, yet there are inconsiderate people out there that lie and ignore instructions just to get whatever they want. They don’t seem to realise their selfish actions can lead to people’s death in our current situation.
I don’t know who is reading this and who NEEDS to read this but please,
- stay at home as much as you can,
- stop spreading rumours and false news,
- keep calm and don’t panic.
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