Extended stay-at-home.

Fri 10 Apr 2020.

What I predicted (that wasn't a stroke of genius !) about the extension of the lockdown had this afternoon been announced by the PM. The medical experts have been urging it. I've gone around Ampangan (a Red Zone, by the way) and I say it's the right move.

We're trying to stop the spread of the virus, and stopping the movement of people so that they don't spread it or get caught by it seems common sense. But you know what they say, common sense is not so common.

The past modern-time world plagues that hit us this millenium had been overcome with world leadership and the joint efforts of nations. This time we lack both world leadership and joint efforts. 

Rich, powerful nations in America, Europe and Asia are not offering the world leadership they should have, but obviously don't. The WHO flails statistics but sends no physical presence to the hit zones. It's everyone for himself. 

I glance over the figures being quoted:

The world population is 7.78 billion.

The infected is now 1.6 million.

The dead are 96,373.

The biggest number infected is USA , with 468,895 cases and 16,697 deaths and a population of 330 million. Trump has been playing around with meaningless words and blaming everyone while Americans are actually dying by the thousands !But then China only reports 81,907 cases and 3,336 deaths with the world's biggest population of 1.4 billion !

Then I look at the ratios:

Country  Total cases Total death  Cases/mil Death/mil Test/mil

USA          468,895        16,697         1,417        50           7,181

China           81,907          3,336             57          2             n.a.

Malaysia       4,228               67             131         2           2,153

Philipines      4,195             221              38          2              224

Indonesia       3,512             306              13          1               65

Thailand         2,473              33               35         0.5         1,030

Singapore       1,910               6              326         1            11,110

Malaysia's tests are not as good as Singapore and the USA. But they're much better than Indonesia, the Philipines and Thailand combined ! China offers nothing ! Indonesia has 272 million people, Philipines 109 million, Thailand 70 million, Malaysia 32 million and tiny Singapore has 5.8 million.

What we have done so far, seems creditable, though not seemingly enough. The extended lockdown must be made to work, because that's the only sure defence that we have. Let's not hide behind 

these statistics. We don't want to end up as one, just a statistic !

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