LETTERS: Without a viable vaccine and therapy, the only available means to control the Covid-19 spread is through our own discipline.
The advice by the authorities is to avoid close contact by avoiding crowded spaces, to practise good hygiene and to limit movements to only getting essential items.
This has been communicated through the slogan "Just Stay At Home".
Public health has been the biggest calamity. The economy has also taken a big hit. Small businesses which thrive on daily incomes have been badly shaken, especially owners of roadside stalls. With the Movement Control Order (MCO), their meagre incomes have been completely locked out.
Big businesses have not been spared either. Tourism and travel have been rattled.
Many hotels now rely on the quarantine programme for returning citizens, funded through the government's stimulus package.
Many airlines have already declared their situation as dire. Some have already filed for bankruptcy. Thousands who work for the airline industry including pilots have been made jobless.
Cancellation of orders for new planes has also affected Airbus and Boeing, the two major makers. It will undoubtedly have a domino effect on the supply chain.
In Malaysia, aerospace companies involved in the supply chain face uncertainties.
The commodities sector has also been impacted through a slump in demand.
Prices of palm oil and rubber have taken a dive. The oil and gas sectors are also in dire straits mainly because of demand slump brought about by reduced travel during this pandemic.
Attempts by oil-producing nations to cut supply have resulted in world oil price falling below US$20 per barrel.
But the food and medical sectors are positively impacted by the Covid-19 crisis.
Medical equipment makers are having a field day with the massive orders in place. Malaysian glove manufacturers are benefiting too.
Others are not so lucky. Despite the rising demand of foodstuff, it has been reported that vegetable farmers in Cameron Highlands have lost out due to logistical problems.
For a long time now, nature has suffered at the hands of our reckless economic activities that often wrought havoc on the environment.
However, with the enforced lockdown throughout much of the world, there has been visible evidence of recovery.
Pictures of cleaner rivers and clear air have been shared on social media. Covid-19 has reversed the fate of the environment for the better.
It confirms the scientific stand that Man is the culprit in the worsening river and air quality.
It also shows that nature can heal itself. The cessation of human activities during this pandemic has therefore been a blessing to nature.
PROFESSOR DATUK DR AHMAD IBRAHIM
FELLOW ACADEMY OF SCIENCE
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times