While Malaysia’s COVID-19 positivity rate has been below one percent in August – the lowest among Southeast Asian countries – it’s too early to rejoice. A new mutation of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has been discovered in the country.
By Nikita Soni
Malaysia reported its first COVID-19 positive case on January 25, 2020. As of August 25, the Southeast Asian country has recorded a total of 9285 cases, with 125 deaths.
Earlier this month, a new mutation of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, called D614G, was discovered in Malaysia. The virus, deemed to be 10 times more infectious than COVID-19, was found in at least three of the 45 cases in a cluster that started from a restaurant owner, who breached his mandatory 14-day home quarantine on returning from India.
Reality check
The first wave ended successfully within less than two months of its occurrence. Most of the instances were imported cases from China. However, the second wave, which started in early March, has posed new challenges.
Localised clusters began to emerge; the largest cluster was linked to a Tablighi Jamaat religious procession held in Sri Petaling, Kuala Lumpur. This led to massive spikes in local cases and exportation of cases to neighbouring countries as well. Within three weeks, the virus had spread to every state and federal territory in the country.
Act in time
To break the chain of COVID-19, the government of Malaysia imposed a Movement Control Order (MCO) from March 18 to March 31. All citizens were prohibited from leaving and entering the country.
The MCO was extended thrice in response to rising cases. A gradual easing of restrictions under a Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO), which allowed most businesses to open on May 4 under strict norms of practice, was announced on May 1 and was in effect until June 9. It was then replaced with Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) until August 31.
In August, Malaysia’s cumulative positivity rate has been below one percent – lowest among all Southeast Asian countries. The two regions that continue to be worrisome are the capital Kuala Lumpur and neighbouring Selangor, as they account for more than 50 percent of Malaysia’s current COVID-19 cases.
Road ahead
Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin launched an economic stimulus package called the “caring package” worth USD59 billion to protect the welfare of the people and support small businesses. Another package of USD143 million was allocated to the health ministry for the purchase of equipment and to hire contract personnel, especially nurses.
With China as Malaysia’s largest trading partner, the country’s economy has been adversely impacted, especially due to the stark decline in tourist arrival from Mainland China. Experts predict that the prolonged outbreak is likely to hit the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) hard.
