Welcome to the 2020 Coronavirus Prevention Exam.
We hope you have spent most of your time at home memorising precautionary measures instead of binge-watching Netflix, but we’re realists and know that this is highly unlikely.
Your first question is: How should you react during a pandemic?
a) Panic, something the whole world is very talented at
b) Keep calm and follow the government’s advice, something only some of us are good at
c) Get angry and wish death upon those who are trying to protect you
If you picked option b), congratulations, you’re a rational human being!
If you picked option a), don’t worry, everyone’s been panicking. You can still learn to change your ways.
If you picked option c), well, uh, you’re screwed.
M’sian Angry at MCO & Said She ‘Hoped all Police Officers Get COVID-19’ on FB; Now Face Jailtime
As you know, Malaysians have been under a nationwide lockdown for the last two weeks, confined to their homes.
Only the “head of the household” is allowed to leave for absolutely essential trips, like buying groceries.
Some people are taking this lockdown better than others, of course, as being at home for weeks on end is bound to make a few go bonkers.
Angry at the fact that she was told to return home at a police roadblock when she was out and about at night in Kedah, one 20-year-old shopkeeper couldn’t take it anymore and decided to vent her frustrations out on social media.
In a post on Facebook, the woman condemned the police officers who are enforcing the Movement Control Order (MCO), going so far as to even ‘wish that all police officers get Covid-19 so they would die’.
And sure, she didn’t actually threaten them with violence, but the authorities didn’t take this lightly.
The shopkeeper was charged under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act (CMA) 1998 for the sharing of offensive and menacing content.
She was initially sentenced to three months jail and an RM10,000 fine, but because she was not able to pay the fine, her jail sentence was extended by another two months.
As this story demonstrates, panicking or letting your emotions get the best of you just never ends well for anyone, especially during such a tense time.
The situation in Malaysia
Malaysia’s lockdown has prevented major daily spikes in Covid-19 infections, the government said on Tuesday (31 Mar).
The country reported 140 new cases on Tuesday, taking the total number of infections to 2,766.
43 people have died from the disease so far.
Malaysia’s lockdown is scheduled to end on 14 April, which means another two weeks of staring at your loved ones’ annoying faces.
Tensions are bound to flare, but there’s no need to take it out on those who are trying to protect you and the entire country.
