LETTERS: Last May 4, the government relaxed restrictions on most economic sectors under the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO).
According to the prime minister's calculation, the country was losing RM2.4 billion daily during the Movement Control Order (MCO). Estimated total losses are currently around RM63 billion. If the MCO is extended another month, the losses will amount to a staggering RM98 billion.
As we embark onto the next phase to revive the economy, cooperation from everyone is vital together with proper execution of policies by the authorities.
There is a critical need for us all to not be complacent and be socially responsible to ensure the spread of the virus is controlled.
Companies must strictly enforce the standard operating procedure (SOP) on employees as well as customers.
For instance, restaurants should ensure adequate physical distancing between tables and in queues. Hand sanitisers and soaps must be provided for customers. Employees, especially those at the front line, must wear face masks.
Regular cleaning of tables must be carried out and customers' temperature and identification details must be recorded for contact tracing purposes.
Another example is public transportation such as buses, MRT, LRT, KTM and Monorail. The public transport operator, Prasarana Malaysia Berhad, has announced several measures in line with the CMCO.
They include increased train frequency to support social distancing. Peak travel hours have been extended from 7am to 11am and from 4pm to 7pm. Additional staff will be on duty to control the crowd at platforms.
As countries across the world move to lift lockdowns or ease restrictions, we can learn from them what will happen when measures are not adequately implemented.
We may have flattened the curve but we definitely have not won the war yet. Testing is ongoing and the health authorities are trying to bring up the daily testing capacity.
It is our social responsibility to help frontliners who have sacrificed their time and lives for us. We certainly do not want to see more people losing their jobs or companies going bankrupt because of a rise in infection numbers resulting from our lackadaisical attitude.
As the trending hashtag goes, we need to live by #KitajagaKita (we take care of ourselves).
Nur Sofea Hasmira Azahar
EMIR Research
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times