So far, Singapore seems to have been managing COVID-19 pretty well.
Based on recent data, there haven’t been too many daily new cases, which is goody news all around.
Our neighbour, Malaysia, also had three months of less than 40 daily cases.
However, October saw the cases spike to a new high when there were 691 new cases reported on 6 October.
And the numbers keep getting higher.
Police Officers Affected
This is more than just a resurgence.
Recently, it was reported that many of Malaysia’s front liners have been greatly affected by COVID-19.
More specifically, there are around 10,000 police personnel under quarantine.
So far, 200 have tested positive for the virus and are undergoing treatment.
To give a scale on how big that is, there are an estimated 100,000 police officers across all divisions in Malaysia.
That’s one-tenth of the force unable to work.
The manpower strain from this is so bad that it’s become an actual security concern.
According to Malaysia Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin, the last two weeks saw around 11,000 total cases.
This number is even more than the total cases in the last seven months, which was around 10,000.
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Unavoidable for Frontliners
But here’s the dilemma.
Police jobs require one to be out in the field, which also poses a higher risk for these officers to be subjected to the virus.
The same goes for all the other frontliners such as medical and health workers.
Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah shares the sentiment.
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He said that they have to endure despite the fatigue and mentions that the nation counted on these frontliners.
It was also reported that the police force has not had a day off or taken leave in the last 10 months.
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Politician Datuk Seri Hamzah mentioned that practicing social distancing is hard as police since they have to be near people.
He also said that police were busy helping the immigration department stop foreigners from entering Malaysia illegally.
As if they didn’t have enough on their hands already.
Over 520 people were caught trying to enter Sarawak illegally between 1 May to 18 October.
Notable Cases In The Police Force
A few cases do stand out amidst the insane number.
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19 personnel from the Cheras district police headquarters tested positive for Covid-19 on 19 October.
Others in the district are also awaiting their test results, so hopefully, there won’t be more.
On 12 October, Petaling Jaya’s officer in charge of the district underwent self-quarantine.
He had been in close contact with a District Health Officer, whom the latter attended a meeting with the security manager of a golf club.
Both of them were tested positive for the virus.
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Once more, Mr Hamzah stressed that now was not the time for politics. Rather, it was about saving lives.
He hopes Malaysia will understand why the Government needed resources to combat the pandemic.