After only a day of having double-digit increases in the number of new Covid-19 cases in Malaysia, the number went back up past 100, but only just a little over.
 
There were 110 new cases and one death announced yesterday, bringing the totals to 5,182 and 84, respectively. But there were 119 recoveries (for a total of 2,766), continuing a general trend of higher recovery numbers than new cases over the past week or so. 
 
These numbers are lower than a projection by researchers at JPMorgan last month, who predicted that we would hit our peak in mid-April with around 6,300 cases. At 5,182 now, we’re well below that. 
 
So far, so good. But, is there cause for optimism? Let’s take a look at a few other things.

Penang, Kedah and Perlis have for several days now seen no new cases, and are now under a 14-day monitoring period before they can be declared “green states”. Excellent.

PKR president Anwar Ibrahim’s meeting with PM Muhyiddin Yassin, where only Covid-19 was discussed (and not politics), shows our leaders are coming together to try to find the best way to battle the virus, regardless of political affiliation. So, yeah, another reason for optimism. 

New rapid test kits are on order from South Korea, which will allow mass testing to be carried out. The Health Ministry is also going to focus on testing senior citizens and foreign workers. Another plus point in efforts to fight Covid-19. 
 
Speaking of migrant workers – there are no clusters among foreigners so far. That’s fantastic, especially when you consider how vulnerable they are to easy transmission and contraction due to the nature of their mainly manual-labour jobs as well as their living conditions, with many people packed into small living spaces.

Our next-door neighbours Singapore is a prime example of this. Of their record 728 new cases, 654 originated in foreign workers’ dorms. 

And this is why the need for caution has to continue. All it takes is one case for another cluster to emerge, and for things to spike again. In many situations, population density – many people living in one unit, or many units packed into flats and condos – will make for easy transmission of the virus if we drop our guard.

Our current data also shows that more than half the 5,182 cases detected here were undisclosed infections, which means people either didn’t know or didn’t say they had been possibly exposed. Even more worrying? New studies show that Covid-19 patients are most infectious even before their symptoms appear. 
 
This explains the stringent moves put in place so far, such as screening residents in the locked-down Masjid India area, and those working in essential industries. The government has also decided there will be no Ramadan bazaars in KL this year, not even drive-thru ones or e-bazaars. When Malaysians stop thinking with their stomachs, you know something is really out of whack. 
 
We are also going to employ a new zoning system which theoretically will be able to give a better picture of the Covid-19 situation. With Kota Kinabalu now joining the list of red zones, the sooner the new system is in place, the better. 
 
But all caution will be for naught if fools among us continue taking the MCO lightly. Nearly 15,000 people were flagged for MCO violations in phases 1 and 2 of the MCO, and another 300-plus on the first day of Phase 3. We have people getting together for birthday parties and gambling, and a trio who decided they needed to get their golf game on. Even our elected leaders are doing daft things (no surprise there, actually), with one Melaka assemblyman now being investigated for holding three events. 

So yeah, we can perhaps start to breathe a little easier. But just don’t break out the champagne yet.