Credits to: GIPHY

It has been a while since the last update of my life under lockdown, or more specifically a Movement Control Order, or MCO for short. It's been a busy couple of days with the family, doing all the mundane tasks at home that would ordinarily be put off; organising things, arranging furniture, learning new recipes, and not to mention dusting of the vacuum for some spring cleaning.

I've also waited for more stuff to happen so that I can talk more about it, and after nearly a week, much has gone afoot. The single biggest headline is the MCO's extension from April 1^st to the 14^th. Speaking for myself, while its certainly unpleasant to be cooping up at home for another two weeks, I did expect something like this to happen. Considering how deadly the Coronavirus has been, I didn't think that the original timespan was enough to halt, or even slow down its spread throughout the country.

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Extreme Times, Call For Extreme Measures.

Credits to: GIPHY

Since then, the number of confirmed cases in Malaysia has risen by 1,000 to 2,320, while deaths have nearly tripled, now sitting at 27 fatalities. Even Bing's usually accurate Covid-19 tracker hasn't been able to keep up. Only days ago, Malaysians were shocked over the news that we saw the highest daily jump in infections to date, while emergency workers and civil servants are working around the clock, with little rest or remedy.

Clearly then, the first phase of the MCO hasn't been that successful at slowing down the rate of infections. As a consequence, the government's extension to mid-April follows a second phase, one more stringent. This should come as no surprise, as I continue to see people going out and moving around for no reason. As streets become devoid of vehicles, people are going out jogging, and parks have been occupied by children playing games, unaccompanied mind you.

Credits to: Bing - Covid-19 Tracker

With a pandemic that has killed almost 30,000 people, while nearly 600,000 around the world have confirmed to be infected, it boggles the mind that some are still not taking this seriously. It might not seem significant, but the more you interact with people, the higher the chance of getting infected. With some Covid-19 cases not seeing early symptoms, it could be some time before you realise that you've been infected.

All the while, you've acted as a transmission with which other people, including your loved ones, could catch the infection, which would then spread even more. Here, the police have already arrested certain persons who've been disobeying the order. While I think prison sentences are a bit harsh, I do hope that it might have the chance of discouraging others; be it teenagers having pointless meetups, or irresponsible parents letting their kids hang out and play.

Credits to: MalayMail (Social Distancing Is A Distant Understanding)

The government's also doing its thing to keep the fabrics of Malaysia's economy running, and to make sure businesses don't go bankrupt. Just yesterday, they announced a 250 billion Malaysian Ringgit economic stimulus for a shut down economy, which equates to about $58 billion. Not so big as the US Government's $2 trillion relief package, but for a small country like ours, it's a big deal.

Details are aplenty including, but not limited to, handouts for lower and middle income families, students, taxi and e-hailing drivers, and most importantly financial aid for frontliners and their families. Meanwhile, more funds have been flooded for the healthcare system and the emergency services, while initiatives have been given for small and medium enterprises. Insurance companies will help to partially bear the cost of health screenings, while banks will hold off on loan repayments, and so on.

Credits to: TheStar

Also important to making sure people stay indoors, while not destroying our social lives and mental wellbeing - we get free internet from April onwards until the end of the MCO. Plus, we also get discounts on electricity bills for 6 months! Now, there's really no reason why you shouldn’t just sit on your couch, play games, read some books, or binge watch movies endlessly. If you need to stay on top of work or social networking, then telcos will also give out 1GB of free data.

I don't know how they plan on doing this, but rolling all of this out at once seems like a logistical nightmare. I expect there to be some chaos, but it'll certainly help people get by, and at this point, the consequences of Covid-19 is weighing heavily on our shoulders. Paraphrasing something from one of my all time favourite movies, Margin Call; "It's just money… Pieces of paper with pictures on them, so that we don’t have to kill each other just to get something to eat. "

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Flattening The Curve.

Credits to: GIPHY (From What Does Hive Mean To Me)

We'll see how it goes when we get the money in a few days. As for my personal developments, things still stay the same. I've barely had any screen time for socialising, and those fleeting moments are spared for Twitter or Feedly, just to stay on top of the news. But I did spend some time responding to @justcallmedan's initiative for HIVE. If you're interested to read on about HIVE's importance to me, and some of my thoughts on the platform, here's my "What Does Hive Mean To Me? "

On a heated note, the weather's been rather tropical lately, with hot days and even hotter nights. Across our small apartment, each main room has air-conditioning… except mine. It's not because my family is cruel, but at the time when we were renovating, I was in college, and I thought, "Well, I won't be at home much anyways, so may as well not put aircon in my room! ". Plus the fact that my room is facing the inner apartment blocks, and isn't blinded by the sun. That hasn't really stopped the heat. Sigh…

Credits to: GIPHY

Nowadays, only one person per family is allowed to leave home, and yesterday was my chance to leave and stock up our shelves. It was the usual stuff; bread, eggs, snacks, bottled drinks, canned food, cleaning and bathing supplies. It would seem that social distancing isn't easy when you're in a small store. I tried to buy masks and gloves, but understandably, they've all been sold out. At the very least though, we've got some sanitiser.

We've also taken this time to get acquainted with food delivery services, other than pizza. We did have some Domino's for dinner, which I personally think is superior to Pizza Hut. Some days ago, we had Texas Chicken, a fast food chain that isn't talked about much here, and I believe firmly that it's better than Malaysia's KFCs, with less grease, and significantly larger servings of poultry.

Credits to: GIPHY

Life goes on, even with a pandemic raging through. Certain changes and rules can be uncomfortable, but it's a necessity to fight Covid-19. Crucially, slowing down the infections would help to buy some time, as experts try to figure out ways to kill it. There's people on the frontlines who are willing to put their lives at risk, just so the rest of us could survive.

We should be at the very least grateful to have them, and while some of us may not be able to do what they're doing, we each have a part to play. For the most of us, that part is staying indoors, practicing good hygiene, and if we're needed to be outside, maintain social distancing. We've survived plagues before, and there's no reason why humankind can't conquer Covid-19. Stay safe, everyone!

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Credits to: GIPHY

Thanks for reading! For more updates on my blogs, or the more minute things in life, feel free to follow me on Twitter and LinkedIn, and maybe give a shout there as well!

While you're at it, follow along @zacknorman97 for more, coming soon :-)