Commentary: Keep calm and stay at home
It’s been more than a week since the movement control order (MCO) has been enforced.
If you are feeling bored being stuck at home, congratulations, consider yourself lucky if boredom is your biggest challenge at the moment.
Because others have bigger problems to worry about.
Others such as waste collection workers, delivery staff and those in the essential service industry still have to go out and work and be exposed to risks.
Frontliners like medical staff, the police and enforcement officers have to clock in extra hours while putting their lives at risk.
And it’s not just Covid-19, the long hours and lack of toilet breaks have also led to exhaustion, stress and many other health problems and even death, like in the case of a police corporal who died due to high blood pressure while on duty during the MCO.
Some of us have to work from home while juggling family life; and we are still the lucky ones because we still have a job and salary.
Others like day labourers have lost income while small time business owners worry about how to pay their staff when business is affected.
For those in the low-income bracket, their livelihood is at stake.
Yes I know being confined at home for long periods of time can be suffocating. Years ago, I was bedridden for a month and despite the excruciating pain, I still wanted to hobble out for some fresh air or to feel the sun.
But in times like this, staying at home is necessary.
As predicted by many, the MCO has been extended so if you think 14 days is bad enough, try a month.
We’re not alone, other countries are also going through a lockdown or partial lockdown: it’s a month-long lockdown for New Zealand, India's Prime Minister has imposed a 21-day nationwide lockdown, while Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison warned its citizens of a shutdown that could last six months.
Residents of Wuhan in China’s Hubei province have been on lockdown since Jan 23.
So if one month is all it takes, so be it.
Looking on the positive side, being able to work from home means not having to waste hours in traffic jams.
When I was based in the Putrajaya bureau for five years, aside from two hours commuting to and fro, with assignments at places 60km away from home, on average I spent about three to four hours on the road daily. Even now, if there is a thunderstorm during peak hours, it can take up to two hours for me to reach home. I could have reached the neighbouring state within that time.
Since my hospitalisation last year, plus being on almost a month of antibiotics, my immune system has been weakened and I’m prone to infections. Just earlier this month, a bout of food poisoning landed me in the hospital’s emergency department after I endured five hours of abdominal pain and vomiting. Even after two shots of painkillers I was still writhing in pain. Hence, being able to work from home during the Covid-19 outbreak is a blessing for an immunocompromised person like me.
I don’t have any qualms about being confined at home for a month. Perhaps it is because I was an only child for six years until my younger sibling came along and I’ve always found ways to keep myself occupied.
I have tons of reading to catch up on, recipes to try, and spring cleaning.
As someone who loves learning languages, I’m spoiled for choice. Norsk, anyone?
I’m glad to see many people around me have been taking it in stride as well.
If you have the internet at home, the world is at your fingertips; learn a new skill via online tutorials or connect via video call with family and friends.
Some people discovered new hobbies or hidden talents, many have been posting photos of their culinary adventures or in my case, misadventures.
It is also a chance to spend quality time with your family, if you live with them.
I understand that it can be hard for those living in close quarters, being cooped up in a small low-cost flat 24/7 along with 10 family members.
Perhaps it’s time to learn how to foster better ties with your family members and learn to be more understanding of each other.
Instead of whining about the MCO, try to make the best of it.
And spare a thought for the frontliners who are putting their lives at risk for the rest of the nation; don’t add to their burden.
In times of crisis, the strong-willed will find ways to survive and overcome hardships.
If you are feeling bored being stuck at home, congratulations, consider yourself lucky if boredom is your biggest challenge at the moment.
Because others have bigger problems to worry about.
Others such as waste collection workers, delivery staff and those in the essential service industry still have to go out and work and be exposed to risks.
Frontliners like medical staff, the police and enforcement officers have to clock in extra hours while putting their lives at risk.
And it’s not just Covid-19, the long hours and lack of toilet breaks have also led to exhaustion, stress and many other health problems and even death, like in the case of a police corporal who died due to high blood pressure while on duty during the MCO.
Some of us have to work from home while juggling family life; and we are still the lucky ones because we still have a job and salary.
Others like day labourers have lost income while small time business owners worry about how to pay their staff when business is affected.
For those in the low-income bracket, their livelihood is at stake.
Yes I know being confined at home for long periods of time can be suffocating. Years ago, I was bedridden for a month and despite the excruciating pain, I still wanted to hobble out for some fresh air or to feel the sun.
But in times like this, staying at home is necessary.
As predicted by many, the MCO has been extended so if you think 14 days is bad enough, try a month.
We’re not alone, other countries are also going through a lockdown or partial lockdown: it’s a month-long lockdown for New Zealand, India's Prime Minister has imposed a 21-day nationwide lockdown, while Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison warned its citizens of a shutdown that could last six months.
Residents of Wuhan in China’s Hubei province have been on lockdown since Jan 23.
So if one month is all it takes, so be it.
Looking on the positive side, being able to work from home means not having to waste hours in traffic jams.
When I was based in the Putrajaya bureau for five years, aside from two hours commuting to and fro, with assignments at places 60km away from home, on average I spent about three to four hours on the road daily. Even now, if there is a thunderstorm during peak hours, it can take up to two hours for me to reach home. I could have reached the neighbouring state within that time.
Since my hospitalisation last year, plus being on almost a month of antibiotics, my immune system has been weakened and I’m prone to infections. Just earlier this month, a bout of food poisoning landed me in the hospital’s emergency department after I endured five hours of abdominal pain and vomiting. Even after two shots of painkillers I was still writhing in pain. Hence, being able to work from home during the Covid-19 outbreak is a blessing for an immunocompromised person like me.
I don’t have any qualms about being confined at home for a month. Perhaps it is because I was an only child for six years until my younger sibling came along and I’ve always found ways to keep myself occupied.
I have tons of reading to catch up on, recipes to try, and spring cleaning.
As someone who loves learning languages, I’m spoiled for choice. Norsk, anyone?
I’m glad to see many people around me have been taking it in stride as well.
If you have the internet at home, the world is at your fingertips; learn a new skill via online tutorials or connect via video call with family and friends.
Some people discovered new hobbies or hidden talents, many have been posting photos of their culinary adventures or in my case, misadventures.
It is also a chance to spend quality time with your family, if you live with them.
I understand that it can be hard for those living in close quarters, being cooped up in a small low-cost flat 24/7 along with 10 family members.
Perhaps it’s time to learn how to foster better ties with your family members and learn to be more understanding of each other.
Instead of whining about the MCO, try to make the best of it.
And spare a thought for the frontliners who are putting their lives at risk for the rest of the nation; don’t add to their burden.
In times of crisis, the strong-willed will find ways to survive and overcome hardships.
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