If there’s anything to learn from this, it’s this: all it takes is just one event for the coronavirus to spread like wildfire in a country.
In Singapore, we’ve the SAFRA Jurong private dinner that now has 45 linked cases, with more to be expected.
And in Malaysia, it’s a religious event at a mosque that took place between 27 February to 1 March. The event was attended by more than 16,000 people from several countries, including 95 Singaporeans.
About 5,000 of them are Malaysians, and because there’s an outbreak in the event, more Malaysians have been confirmed to carry the virus.
M’sia Almost Doubled Its Total COVID-19 Cases in a Day Due to Mosque Event
Yesterday (14 March 2020), the number of confirmed cases in Malaysia surpasses Singapore cases as our closest neighbour reported a whopping 41 new cases in a day, leading the total to 238.
Most new cases are linked to the mosque event.
Today, it’s announced that there are 190 new cases in Malaysia, bringing the total to 428 confirmed cases.
42 patients have since recovered and are discharged, while 9 patients are in ICU. Similar to Singapore, there has been no death.
The authorities are urging people who’ve been to the event to contact the authorities so that the virus can be contained.
With the spike in new cases, Prime Minister Muyiddin Yassin, who warned of a “second wave” of infections and an impact in economic growth, has told the country to cancel or postpone all gatherings including international meetings, sports, social and religious events until after April.
The new Malaysian government will also hold a special meeting tomorrow (16 March) to discuss new measures to fight the coronavirus.