IT must have come as a bit of a surprise to some when Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced recently that the entire nation would be placed under the Movement Control Order (MCO).
That meant that all of us would have our movements restricted for the second Hari Raya Aidilfitri in a row. We all knew the numbers were rising fast. Still, it was a surprise as the prime minister had said there would be no more nationwide, or even statewide, MCO not too long ago.
Muhyiddin's hands, however, were tied. If nothing was done, the projections were that we could be seeing upwards of 5,000 new Covid-19 infections daily after Hari Raya and even as many as 10,000.
That was an alarming projection, but one brought on by the fact that the infections were already in the community, considering 80 per cent of cases were sporadic, and a number of cases involved variants of concern (VOC). In fact, we have three of the four VOC already in Malaysia, the ones from South Africa, the United Kingdom and India.
The last of the three is the double-mutant variant that is of the greatest concern. The only variant we do not have is the one from Brazil.
Now, virologists are concerned that we may have our own mutation to deal with over here. The Universiti Malaya Tropical Infectious Diseases Research and Education Centre says the facility identified two potential local strains recently.
This is not surprising as the virus that causes Covid-19 has the potential to mutate, as can be seen with the four VOC.
As it is, our numbers have surged to the point that we are seeing more than 4,000 cases almost daily. Whether the numbers will climb further over the next few days, only time will tell.
What is certain is that the government had to do something urgently and that is why the MCO was implemented. Hari Raya, as with all major celebrations, would see people moving about, visiting friends and family, spreading cheer, goodwill and love.
Without restrictions, what would also be spread was Covid-19. That would have really pushed our infection rate higher and that projection of 10,000 new cases daily would have come true.
Despite the restrictions, we have a lot to be thankful for right now. For the most part, Malaysians are accepting of the lockdown. We know it is for our own good.
The surge in cases, the presence of variants, the strain on our healthcare system and our frontliners — yet we are still standing strong.
Our numbers are nowhere near that of India or the Philippines, or many other countries for that matter. It is not the best, either, but it is not bad.
Therefore, we are thankful for the "little miracles", for being alive to be able to celebrate another Aidilfitri, for our families, for technology even, as this has allowed us to keep in touch with family who are apart from us via video conferencing and messaging apps.
It was a digital Aidilfitri, just as it was last year, but a celebration nonetheless.