If there’s one thing that most of the world can agree on this year, it is that 2020 has been challenging.
Amongst all other things, the unexpected surfacing of the Covid-19 pandemic surely takes the cake for total domination of the entire year due to fear of its catastrophic health outcomes.
The pandemic has, over the past year, brought about dramatic changes to the world in many ways, and many of these changes will persist.
In Sarawak, the virus reached its shores on March 13 after the first positive case was detected and within the span of nine months until year end, the state had recorded over 1,115 cases at press time based on statistics from the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) on December 30.
The distribution of the cases are categorised according to districts in the state, with Kuching leading with 731 recorded cumulative cases, followed by Samarahan with 116 cases and Miri with 63 cases.
These cases were the result of extensive screening of some 211,700 individuals including patients under investigation (PUIs) and persons under surveillance (PUSs) — with all the tests done in laboratory and health facilities throughout the state.
Of the total, 1,068 or 95.7 percent had recovered after receiving treatments at Sarawak General Hospital (SGH), Sibu Hospital, Bintulu Hospital and Miri Hospital as well as Sungai Buloh Hospital in Selangor.
Twenty-six patients or 2.3 percent of the total cases are currently receiving treatments at all four of the Covid-19 treatment hospitals located throughout the state.
The state also recorded a total of 22 re-admission cases where recovered and discharged patients had re-tested positive for Covid-19.
Regrettably, the coronavirus also managed to take the lives of 19 victims or 1.7 percent of the overall number of cases. On March 17, Sarawak recorded the nation’s first Covid-19 death involving the 18th recorded patient in the state where the victim succumbed to the virus when receiving treatment at SGH.
Alongside all the detected cases in Sarawak, various Covid-19 clusters were also declared by SDMC and the Health Ministry (MoH).
Twenty-five clusters were declared in total with the Seri Petaling Tabligh Cluster and Besi Demak Cluster as the first and last clusters of 2020 respectively.
Other more notable clusters included the Kuching Church Conference Cluster, the largest cluster involving 191 victims, the Greenhill Cluster which spread to Miri and Sematan and the Baki Cluster which led to the implementation of an enhanced movement control order (EMCO) in Kampung Haji Baki in Kuching between October 28 and November 10.
Throughout the span of the pandemic, the state also saw a few spikes in the number of cases, most notably in early and late April; late July; early and late October; and throughout the first half of November.
In view of the situation, SDMC implemented and imposed various precautionary measures which have proven multiple times to be effective in curbing the spread of the coronavirus.
Movement control order
On March 16, Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg announced several control measures to prevent Covid-19 infections from further escalating in the state.
Phase 1 of the movement control order (MCO) was implemented from March 18 to 31 as announced by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and on March 25, through a live national broadcast, he announced the first extension of the MCO until April 14.
This would become the second phase of the MCO which was implemented until phase 6 which ended on June 9.
On May 2, Sarawak decided not to implement the conditional movement control order (CMCO) that would allow the reopening of certain economic activities and sectors on May 4 as announced by the prime minister.
After the number of infections fell, the state, as per the directives of the federal government, began its implementation of the recovery movement control order (RMCO) from June 10 until year end.
In addition to the RMCO, a CMCO was also implemented in Kuching on November 9.
SDMC announced that the CMCO would be implemented in Kuching Division until November 22 (14 days) after the division recorded 151 positive cases in 14 days. Inter-state travel to Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Labuan was not allowed while inter-division travel in Sarawak was allowed except for entries and exits to or from Kuching Division.
On November 22, SDMC announced that the CMCO in Kuching Division would be extended until November 27.
New norms
This time last year, concepts such as ‘lockdowns’, ‘mask mandates’ and ‘social distancing’ were unknown to most of the general public. Today, they are part of the people’s everyday language as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to impact all aspects of their lives.
Here in the state, it began with three simple rules — the wearing of face masks, maintaining of physical distancing and keeping our hands clean and sanitised.
During the early implementation of the MCO, businesses were told to cease operations and those allowed to operate were ordered to shorten their business hours.
On top of that, schools and learning institutions were also closed down for a longer period of time which led to teachers and educators opting for online teaching and students adapting to the somewhat foreign and unorthodox learning method.
Covid-19 also affected the work culture of many people. In order to avoid mass gatherings, companies and organisations began adopting video conferencing to conduct online meetings and conferences to allow for employees to work from the comfort of their homes without the need to commute to their workplaces.
Inter-state and inter-district movements were also restricted for a good part of the year to further prevent the virus from spreading to unwanted places.
Celebrations and festivities were also restricted as mass gatherings were not allowed. On April 5, the state government announced that Ramadan and Gawai Bazaar would be cancelled to ensure the safety of Sarawakians.
Aside from that, restaurants are only allowed to seat half of the capacity per table to maintain physical distancing amongst diners. All shops and business premises are also required to jot down all visitors’ information which can also be done through the use of MySejahtera or Qmunity apps in addition to having temperature scanners and a one-way entry and exit point.
The new year
Aside from the catastrophic health outcomes, many aspects of everyday lives have been affected for the better or for worse and the economic prospects for the foreseeable future are desperate.
With the promise of a vaccine to be distributed early next year, here’s hoping that 2021 will bring about positive changes and developments in the global battle against Covid-19 — with the lives of the people returning to its normal state and improved quality of life.
