In light of the coronavirus situation, different countries have resorted to different measures in order to track the movements of their people to ensure that they are abiding by the advisories issued.
Take China for example which has come to rely on technology to ensure that its people aren’t flouting the quarantine rules. Chinese state media has revealed that China uses an app to track the locations of those who are quarantined.
Chinese citizens are also reportedly required to download a smartphone app that tells them whether they are able to go on with their daily lives or if they need to go to a medical facility to be quarantined.
On the other hand, countries like Malaysia are resorting to other measures:
Soldiers Will Be Deployed in M’sia to Ensure That people Stay at Home
Why depend on robots and technology when you have actual people, am I right?
The Malaysian government has decided that they will mobilise the army to provide assistance to the police in implementing the movement control order (MCO).
This is in efforts to make sure that people abide by the rules and stay at home as is required. Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said that the army will be deployed as early as Sunday.
“We’re confident that with help from the army the MCO will be implemented better. And we hope the people will continue to comply with the government’s instructions,” he said.
He also said that a lot of Malaysians still go against the MCO’s orders which limits people’s mobility in order to stop further spread of the virus.
Like this:
He has also denied rumours that Putrajaya would announce a state of emergency and clarified that this was fake news meant to induce panic.
Army Will Be Deployed Under Section 5
He also said that the army would be deployed under Section 5 of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988.
This gives the health minister the power to appoint any government agency to implement the required law.
Besides this, there are a few other updates.
Firstly, the Singaporean government will be providing accommodation for Malaysian workers who are stuck in Singapore due to the movement restriction.
Secondly, Putrajaya and Singapore will set up a task force which will include defence ministers from both countries and a working committee involving heads of various ministries. This will also include the Johor government.
(Why am I hearing NSmen’s sighs?)
The education ministry in Malaysia has also officially extended school holidays till 31 March.
The government will be providing food and drink for roughly 60,000 tertiary students who are serving MCO at their university or college housing. The costs will be paid for by the government and are in addition to other initiatives provided by the government.
Lastly, employers are not allowed to force their workers to take unpaid leave during the MCO. The human resources ministry will be taking action against those found doing so.
Goodbye, small businesses in Malaysia.
The Situation In Malaysia
On Thursday, Malaysia announced 110 new COVID-19 cases which bring the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 900, according to Health Minister Adham Baba.
Out of the new cases, 63 are linked to the religious gathering at a mosque in Sri Petaling, Kuala Lumpur.
As many as 16,000 people were present at the event which was also linked and resulted in infections in countries like Brunei, Singapore, Cambodia and Thailand.
A restricted movement order was announced by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin which bans its citizens from travelling overseas and foreigners from entering Malaysia for as long as two weeks which began on Wednesday.
If the situation worsens, this will be extended, but no official announcement has been made regarding this yet.
Let’s hope that won’t happen.
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