Public continue to violate SOP despite cases standing at three digits

In the last seven days, the Covid-19 situation in the country is observed to have worsened.

On October 1, Malaysia registered a whopping 260 positive cases; this is the second largest daily spike since the pandemic began.

While concerns had initially been at the Northern states and Sabah, the Coronavirus is observed to have spread across other states.

The sharp increase in infections comes after a surge in travel to and from Sabah for the state elections.

With the record of Covid-10 cases in each state, Malaysia is currently at a risky state with no more green zones in the country as of September 30.

All the states have now gone into the yellow zones.

Following the new record of 260 cases on October 1, many were left at the edge of their seats of the possibility that the MCO will be enforced again.

With that being said, the number of SOP violators only continues to make headlines.

As observed under the topic Recovery Control Movement Order (RMCO), authorities continue to enforce punishment on those who decide to ignore the rules.

Patrons of pubs and nightclubs, which are not allowed to operate amidst the Covid-19 pandemic make up high portion of the arrests.

Besides nightclub goers, others nabbed for abusing the SOP includes returnees from abroad who failed to settle payments for their quarantine, failing to wear face masks, and engaging in activities that made physical distancing impossible.

In September, it is observed that the RMCO is dominated by negative statements in the media.

With the continued advises from the Ministry of Health (MOH), Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) and other government leaders, people continue to turn a blind eye.

Punishments too, do not seem to scare this group of people. With such attitude, the objective of breaking the chain of transmission is almost impossible.

Consequently, the Movement Control Order (MCO) may have to be reimposed. The question here; could we afford another round of the order?