COVID-19: FLATTENING THE CURVE FROM GROUND ZERO

By Nurul Hanis Izmir

KUALA LUMPUR, March 18 -- The novel coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic has literally brought everything that individuals, families, organisations and governments around the world have planned for the year down to ground zero.

As the deadly virus, which originated in Wuhan, China, spread to more than 150 countries, infecting 183,129 people and claiming 7,175 lives globally to-date, governments across the world are taking unprecedented measures to flatten the infection curve, including pushing for social distancing which would help to slow down the spread.

Locally, the Malaysian government was all geared up to boost the local economy with Visit Malaysia 2020, as well as positioning itself on the global scale by hosting the year-long Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference. 

Many events that had been outlined have now been postponed indefinitely as the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Malaysia rose to 673, of which 49 has since recovered and two deaths had been recorded. 

The socio-economic slowdown due to the effects from the virus have been witnessed across the globe.

In the United States (US), fears of recession due to the effects from the COVID-19 pandemic and the plunge in oil prices saw the Dow Jones Index falling by 13 per cent, its worst rout since Black Monday 1987, which has led the US Fed to reduce its interest rate to a bare 0 per cent.

Globally, China still has the highest number of confirmed cases at 80,881, followed by Italy (27,980 cases), Iran (more than 14,000 cases) and Spain (9,942 cases).

The World Health Organisation declared the COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11, following its unrelentless march across regions and continents.

The European market has also been badly impacted, with cross border transactions between member nations decreasing tremendously as it braces for an enormous impact.

Back home, the FBM KLCI declined by 97.20 points on Friday to close at 1,344.75, its lowest level since July 2010.

The index narrowed further to 1,256.58 on Tuesday on persistent selling pressure, tracking the bearish regional markets. The ringgit also extended last week’s losses to close lower against the US dollar at 4.3480/3530 from 4.3030/3080.

Last night, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced that the government will impose a 14-day Movement Control Order, from March 18-31, to curb the spread of the COVID-19 infection within the country.

He said that all houses of worship and business premises will be closed, with the exception of supermarkets, public markets, sundry and convenience shops which sell daily essentials.

Malaysians would also be banned from travelling overseas during the 14-day period, while those who have recently returned from abroad must undergo health checks and self-quarantine for 14 days.

While the cost of yesterday’s announcement is still being computed, as a small trading nation, Malaysia could face a near-perfect storm of economic impact.

The government has revised down its economic growth forecast this year to between 3.2 per cent and 4.2 per cent from 4.8 estimated earlier.

But this is not the first time that the country or the world has faced such a downturn or a global pandemic.

Although the impact of COVID-19 is said to be worse than the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the measures undertaken globally would help cushion the impact. 

In Malaysia, the government has announced a RM600 a-month cash assistance for workers who have been forced to take unpaid leave for a maximum of six months.

This measure involves an allocation of RM120 million, and as many as 33,000 workers are expected to benefit. 

Muhyiddin also said that affected employees with salaries of under RM4,000 a month are also allowed to withdraw from the Employee Insurance System (EIS).

Earlier, the government had also announced a RM20 billion economic stimulus package for industries that are directly affected by the virus.

The stimulus package has a three-pronged approach – first, to ease the cash flow of affected businesses, second, to assist affected individuals, and third, to stimulate demand for travel and tourism.

While the government is doing its part within its means, be it financial or policy measures, Malaysians, in general, should cooperate in helping the government to combat the spread of the infection by following the instructions given by the government as well as health professionals and focus on how to rebuild the nation during and after the perfect storm.

-- BERNAMA