We almost don’t wanna say it considering how this particular record keeps getting smashed, but Monday’s 432 increase in Covid-19 cases means the country’s scored yet another record-breaking day.

Yes, folks, we’ve notched a lotta record highs of late. But never ever have we registered more than 400 cases in a single day.

As expected, of course, a big bulk of the new infections were registered in Sabah and Kedah. What’s more worrying is with the exception of just Perlis and Penang, every other state notched an increase in cases, with Selangor’s 34 new infections leading the Best of the Rest list.

Also, while no fatalities were reported for a second straight day, the number of patients needing intensive care shot up to 32. For the record, while ICU cases stood at 28 yesterday, we had a mere eight last Monday!

The government, you’ll remember, has been pretty clear about there being no need for nationwide lockdown despite the severe uptick in infections. Be that as it may, let’s put some of the recent numbers in context for you to have a look at:

1. In the week immediately prior to the Movement Control Order (MCO) being implemented on March 18, 2020, Malaysia recorded just three days of daily infections in the 100s. In contrast, over the last seven days, the country’s registered only one day with a two-digit tally (89 cases on Sept 30) and six days with figures in excess of a hundred.
    
2. The recent spike translates to 1,779 new infections over the past week. In the week leading up to the MCO, meanwhile, the cumulative weekly total was just 544, a third of the last seven days’ total.
    
3. In terms of deaths, there were two in the week before we went into lockdown. In contrast, we’ve had three in the last week. With the rising number of cases in intensive care, there’s, of course, the concern the number of fatalities may shoot up.
    
4. But here’s the most important bit – the caseload over the past seven days has contributed to 13.9 percent of the total number of infections Malaysia has recorded!

So, are we advocating a re-imposition of the MCO? Well, no. As we noted yesterday, introducing nationwide curbs at this point will almost certainly plunge the country further down the economic shithole.

Having said that, what the government certainly needs to consider right now is whether it’s time to put the brakes on things like inter-state travel (across the entire country and not just Sabah), social and MICE events and religious gatherings as well as be stricter about restaurant dine-in SOPs and mall operating hours.

After all, we know how Malaysians like shopping and eating out, with the rise in coronavirus cases not seeming to diminish those habits, for the time being anyway. In a series of tweets on Monday, the folks in charge of the government’s contact tracing app MySejahtera noted there hasn’t been a noticeable spread of infections at the country’s malls and eateries due to infected persons having visited these places. Even so, two Petaling Jaya malls – 1 Utama Shopping Centre and Paradigm Mall – have confirmed cases of staff testing positive.

These new incidents come just weeks after six other malls were thrust into a similar spotlight. Thankfully, all the malls were quick to notify the public and take appropriate action, including carrying out sanitising works.

Incidentally, the spike in Covid cases isn’t confined to Malaysia. In fact, a worldwide upsurge in infections that’s hit even places that were previously immune indicates the increase we’re experiencing is part of a global trend. All the same, it’s impossible to shake the feeling that a big part of the blame should go to the folks in Putrajaya.

Take a look at the mess surrounding those returning to various parts of the country after voting and campaigning in the recently-concluded Sabah polls, for example. 

The Health Ministry has maintained that while a two-week quarantine period is mandatory for those experiencing respiratory tract infection symptoms, folks testing negative after a swab test are free to get their pink home surveillance order (HSO) tags cut and go their merry ways. Problem is, we’re seeing now that a number of people who tested negative upon returning from Sabah – like Selangor state assemblypersons Lim Yi Wei and Kota Damansara rep Shatiri Mansor – have later been found to be positive. 

In Yi Wei’s case, for example, the DAP state rep says that three days after returning from Sabah, she was told by the PJ Health District office that she could have her HSO bracelet snipped ’cos she’d tested negative. Fortunately, though, she decided against it on account of experiencing coronavirus symptoms. And wouldn’t you know it, a second swab test did, in fact, confirm her to be positive! 

Now, the million-dollar question is, of course, how many other infected persons who tested negative upon returning from Sabah are out there right now passing on the disease? Hence the need for those returning from Covid hotspots such as Sabah (or Kedah it may now seem) to self-isolate for two-weeks no matter was the initial tests may say. Fourteen days, if you remember, is the incubation period for the virus.

Speaking of Sabah, by the way, the cases have shot up so much there in recent days that not only is a total lockdown of seven districts now in effect, the state government has also closed 122 schools and is looking to impose other super strict MCO-like measures.