The unpredictable and relentless nature of the Covid-19 pandemic has rendered many countries helpless, socially, economically and in so many other ways, and the way out of this global crisis appears to be far more complex than the world predicted initially. Even though such is the overall situation, different countries experienced different fates – where while some relaxed Covid-19 related safety regulations to a great extent based on their Covid-19 management programmes’ success, some witnessed deaths and new cases at unprecedented rates.
Although India and the United States (US) were seen as the two worst hit countries, recently, Malaysia entered this list of worst hit countries. Describing the state in Malaysia, foreign media said that even though Malaysia’s biggest fear was becoming a mini India, it has now become one, and that the number of daily infections and deaths per capita had surpassed India’s peak.
At the end of last month, Malaysia’s daily Covid-19 cases and deaths per million people had reached 515.9 and 4.95, respectively, while at its peak, India had reached 283.5 Covid-19 cases and 3.04 deaths. Also, according to the statistics, Malaysia records the highest per million cases in the Asian region, and also one of the highest per million deaths in South East Asia. Some foreign media outlets quoted Malaysia’s volunteer undertakers as saying that they were handling nearly 30 times more bodies than they did last year.
Fighting the pandemic also means strengthening those who fight the realities the pandemic creates at the grassroots level, such as healthcare workers, without whom no progress is possible, and taking care of a country’s health sector at this juncture is of immense importance. As far as this is concerned, Malaysia has not completely failed; however, an unbearable burden has been placed on them, according to Malaysian media that quoted Malaysian healthcare workers as stating that they had no emotions and that death had become so frequent that they have become numb.
The Sri Lankan context is not much different, unfortunately, and the social media videos and photos of local hospitals, which showed a throng of Covid-19-infected persons that caused local hospitals to run out of even the most basic of facilities such as normal hospital beds, is disheartening. The healthcare workers, have staged a number of protests demanding that the facilities they and the patients are entitled to be improved.
Why does Malaysia’s situation deserve Sri Lanka’s attention?
Around a year ago, Malaysia was seen as a role model in terms of handling the pandemic due to that country’s management of the pandemic, and there was in fact a time when it recorded no local cases for a few days. It was mainly due to effective lockdowns and improving medical facilities. However, Malaysia became complacent with the results it achieved, which foreign media referred to as ‘celebrating too early’ and went on to hold an election during the pandemic.
If we look closely, we can see that the situation in Sri Lanka shows a lot of similarities to that of Malaysia. Sri Lanka is going through the third Covid-19 wave, and during the intervals between every one of these waves, Sri Lankans revelled in decreased Covid-19 cases and deaths and the resultant freedom from lockdowns, and being inconsiderate about the pandemic situation led to another Covid-19 wave. This could be seen particularly during the Sinhala and Tamil New Year, during which time the prevailing third wave started.
Essentially, what made Malaysia one of the worst hit countries from being a role model in South East Asia was not a lack of resources, but ignorance and complacency.
Sri Lanka’s situation is not as bad as Malaysia’s yet; however, Sri Lanka too was in Malaysia’s place when the country did not record community Covid-19 cases whatsoever for months, and Sri Lanka too shows from time to time a great deal of complacency, especially when Covid-19 cases and deaths decline. However, what that complacency brought us was more Covid-19 cases and deaths.
If our own experiences do not compel us to be more vigilant about the situation that we are in, and how it can worsen in a brief period of time, perhaps we should look at other countries.The Malaysian cautionary tale
05 Aug 2021
The Malaysian cautionary tale
05 Aug 2021
The unpredictable and relentless nature of the Covid-19 pandemic has rendered many countries helpless, socially, economically and in so many other ways, and the way out of this global crisis appears to be far more complex than the world predicted initially. Even though such is the overall situation, different countries experienced different fates – where while some relaxed Covid-19 related safety regulations to a great extent based on their Covid-19 management programmes’ success, some witnessed deaths and new cases at unprecedented rates.
Although India and the United States (US) were seen as the two worst hit countries, recently, Malaysia entered this list of worst hit countries. Describing the state in Malaysia, foreign media said that even though Malaysia’s biggest fear was becoming a mini India, it has now become one, and that the number of daily infections and deaths per capita had surpassed India’s peak.
At the end of last month, Malaysia’s daily Covid-19 cases and deaths per million people had reached 515.9 and 4.95, respectively, while at its peak, India had reached 283.5 Covid-19 cases and 3.04 deaths. Also, according to the statistics, Malaysia records the highest per million cases in the Asian region, and also one of the highest per million deaths in South East Asia. Some foreign media outlets quoted Malaysia’s volunteer undertakers as saying that they were handling nearly 30 times more bodies than they did last year.
Fighting the pandemic also means strengthening those who fight the realities the pandemic creates at the grassroots level, such as healthcare workers, without whom no progress is possible, and taking care of a country’s health sector at this juncture is of immense importance. As far as this is concerned, Malaysia has not completely failed; however, an unbearable burden has been placed on them, according to Malaysian media that quoted Malaysian healthcare workers as stating that they had no emotions and that death had become so frequent that they have become numb.
The Sri Lankan context is not much different, unfortunately, and the social media videos and photos of local hospitals, which showed a throng of Covid-19-infected persons that caused local hospitals to run out of even the most basic of facilities such as normal hospital beds, is disheartening. The healthcare workers, have staged a number of protests demanding that the facilities they and the patients are entitled to be improved.
Why does Malaysia’s situation deserve Sri Lanka’s attention?
Around a year ago, Malaysia was seen as a role model in terms of handling the pandemic due to that country’s management of the pandemic, and there was in fact a time when it recorded no local cases for a few days. It was mainly due to effective lockdowns and improving medical facilities. However, Malaysia became complacent with the results it achieved, which foreign media referred to as ‘celebrating too early’ and went on to hold an election during the pandemic.
If we look closely, we can see that the situation in Sri Lanka shows a lot of similarities to that of Malaysia. Sri Lanka is going through the third Covid-19 wave, and during the intervals between every one of these waves, Sri Lankans revelled in decreased Covid-19 cases and deaths and the resultant freedom from lockdowns, and being inconsiderate about the pandemic situation led to another Covid-19 wave. This could be seen particularly during the Sinhala and Tamil New Year, during which time the prevailing third wave started.
Essentially, what made Malaysia one of the worst hit countries from being a role model in South East Asia was not a lack of resources, but ignorance and complacency.
Sri Lanka’s situation is not as bad as Malaysia’s yet; however, Sri Lanka too was in Malaysia’s place when the country did not record community Covid-19 cases whatsoever for months, and Sri Lanka too shows from time to time a great deal of complacency, especially when Covid-19 cases and deaths decline. However, what that complacency brought us was more Covid-19 cases and deaths.
If our own experiences do not compel us to be more vigilant about the situation that we are in, and how it can worsen in a brief period of time, perhaps we should look at other countries.Kapruka
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Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Automobile, Mother and Baby Products, Clothing, and Fashion. Additionally, Kapruka offers unique online services like Money Remittance, Astrology, Medicine Delivery, and access to over 700 Top Brands. Also If you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.Send love straight to their heart this Valentine's with our thoughtful gifts!