Mahathir Urges Malaysians To Practice Social Distancing

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CORONAVIRUS | Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad today urged Malaysians to practice social distancing in a bid to contain the spread of Covid-19
In a live Facebook session, Mahathir took into account how the outbreak had worsened following infections linked to a tabligh gathering at a mosque in Sri Petaling, Kuala Lumpur
Some 16,000 people had attended the four-day gathering beginning Feb 27
“In such a huge gathering, it would be easy to contract the virus. This is why I am of the opinion that we should avoid joining mass gatherings including praying in a congregation
“When we pray in a congregation, we have to be close to one another so if someone is sick, we might get sick, too
“I’m not saying that we should reject performing our prayers, but we have to accept the fact that being close to people is dangerous.”Admitting that he was “not a Muslim cleric”, Mahathir, however, pointed out how “the Quran states that Allah will not help a person if the person does not do anything to help himself”
“And what we must do now is to socially distance ourselves from others, even in prayers," he said
Mahathir added that studying can also be done via online means
“All these can be done now, don’t take this situation lightly. It is very dangerous; it is like a big plague that can affect hundreds of thousands of people.”Mahathir pointed out how cases in Wuhan, China - the epicentre of the novel virus - had dropped
“This is because they are disciplined to stay at home. This disease has no vaccine yet and it would take time before there is a vaccine
“So we cannot expect for the disease to stop by itself unless we practice self-discipline and stay at home and do not go to places such as shopping malls.”He, however, noted that the situation would ruin the country’s economy, citing the tourism industry which has been one of the worst-hit
As of today, Malaysia recorded a three-digit increase in Covid-19 cases with 125 new infections, bringing the total to 553 cases. According to Health Minister Dr Adham Baba, 95 of the new cases could be traced to the tabligh gathering
Adham said the number of patients in the intensive care unit and requiring the aid of a ventilator to breath have also increased from nine to 12. - Mkini

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