Giving Hope in a Lockdown!

 

Covid-19 has been with us since February 2020. Up to June 13 2021, key statistics on cases and deaths are as follows:

·       Coronavirus Cases: 657,508

·       Deaths: 3,908

·       Recovered: 580,276

·       Active Cases: 73,324

Our death rate is about 0.6%, and about 88.3% have recovered from Covid.

Total Coronavirus Cases in Malaysia (Worldometer)

The bulk of the cases are from manufacturing (48%), workplaces and community. The hardest hit is the Bumiputra community – about 58% of all Covid cases (data is based on the first wave and more current statistics by race is not available).

Source: Clinical characteristics and risk factors for severe Covid-19 infections in Malaysia: A nationwide observational study (1 Feb-30 May 2020) published in The Lancet.

Malaysia has ministered at least 3.79 million doses of Covid vaccines so far. Assuming every person needs 2 doses, that suggests 5.9% of the country’s population (Reuters) is vaccinated. During the last week of May, Malaysia averaged about 72,271 doses administered each day. At that rate it will take 89 days to administer enough doses for another 10% of the population.

With a surge of Covid cases, Malaysia entered into FMCO for 2 weeks from June 1, 2021. This is likely to be extended by another 4 weeks. The cost to the economy is probably around RM1.2 billion per day or RM50.4 billion for a 6-week period.

The hardest hit are people in the informal sector, SMEs and workers in the non-essential sectors like gaming, liquor or hairdressing/ saloons.

SMEs are the backbone of the economy.

They contribute substantially in terms of GDP, exports and employment:

During MCO 1.0 (March 18-May 3, 2020) the impact was significant for SMEs:

Under the present FMCO, it is anticipated that 50,000 SMEs may close. SMEs face 4 main issues:

·       Payment of salary;

·       Zero or little revenue;

·       Rental payment; and

·       Loan repayment or interest

So, what practical steps can we do as a community or family?

To help SMEs or individuals in a crisis, we need:

     (i)         Transparency – at least on the cash flow moving forward;

   (ii)         Accountability – to staff, creditors, etc.

If we are comfortable with the honesty, integrity and truthfulness of the situation, then we could do the following:

1)    Food Bank – providing individual family/ies with basic ingredients – rice, eggs, cooking oil, sugar etc. This could be done by one family to another or as a group. Many are doing this, and many will still require support for the next 2-3 months.

2)    Shelter – where people have lost their homes, then others stepping-in to provide short-term accommodation will be helpful.

3)    Job Bank – maintaining a data base of opportunities will be helpful. There are areas in food delivery/ goods delivery; cleaning services; volunteers for vaccination etc.

4)    Short-term Cash Support – this is a short-term measure to meet immediate shortfall on rent or mortgages.

5)    New Business Start-up Capital – where an idea like trading on the internet or something else may require small funding support, which is another avenue for consideration.

6)    Counselling – many will require a listening ear to get over this period. Suicide rates tend to go up in a crisis.

7)    Prayer – many will require prayer support for the problems they face. One can pray for each other without religion getting in the way.

Maybe there are other ideas to giving hope in a lockdown. Do share with us! Be blessed!