The coronavirus is making many people do something they never thought they’d do: break the law.
Upstanding citizens who’ve never had the slightest brush with the law are now being fined and jailed because they can’t deal with the new Covid-19 restrictions.
Why else would so many uncles and aunties continue to eat at hawker centres despite knowing it’s illegal?
The same goes for business owners. Many businesses which relied on visiting customers have suffered huge losses because this deadly pandemic is keeping everyone in their homes.
So, what do you do?
The right thing to do would be to stay indoors, incur a loss, and wait for the whole thing to blow over so you can get back to work.
But people get desperate sometimes and end up doing things that endanger the lives of those around them.
M’sia Barber with COVID-19 Sneaked into People’s Houses to Cut Hair & Could Have Infected 40 People
While everyone in Malaysia was patiently waiting in their homes for the Movement Control Order to be lifted, one Pakistani barber made illegal house visits to cut people’s hair.
And he later tested positive for the coronavirus.
Malaysia’s Health Ministry’s director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah said that the barber was found to be positive on 11 June, after he had been in close contact with 40 people.
These close contacts have been screened and quarantined.
According to Dr Noor Hisham, the man’s barbershop was closed throughout the MCO period since 18 March.
But he continued to provide “house-to-house hair cutting services to clients in the nearby area”.
The health ministry initially identified 25 close contacts, including 21 clients and four of his housemates, but after the man resumed his business on 10 June, the authorities identified another 15 people who had close contact with the barber.
“In total, 40 close contacts have been identified and all have been screened and are currently under quarantine, ” Dr Noor Hisham said.
According to The Star, the barber was sent for Covid-19 testing by his employer because it’s a requirement for all barbershops who hire foreigners.
The infected barber was admitted to the Sungai Buloh Hospital near Kuala Lumpur on 11 June.
The authorities are still working to ascertain the source of the virus.
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From MCO to RMCO
Fortunately for other barbers and the rest of Malaysia, the country’s long lockdown has finally ended.
But, just like Singapore, the Malaysian government has chosen to reopen the country’s economy using a phased approach.
So instead of a Movement Control Order, Malaysians are under a Recovery Phase Movement Control Order.
Interstate travel is allowed, barbershops and hair salons have reopened, and nearly all economic sectors will resume.
On the first day of their safe reopening, Malaysia reported just two cases, the lowest since the MCO began.
Since then, they’ve reported no more than 33 cases a day, a figure Singapore can only dream of at the moment.
Their borders are still closed, though. So, won’t be going over for some delicious food and cheap shopping anytime soon.
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