Introduction

Introduction about Impact of Pandemic Covid-19 On Societies' Economic

The coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic is the most critical health crisis of our time. It is also known as SARS-CoV-2. COVID-19 will cause respiratory infection and the virus was first identified in Wuhan, China in December 2019. Currently, the virus spreads rapidly to almost all the countries in the world, including our beloved country, Malaysia. The Covid-19 is now a global pandemic. For your information, the first case of COVID-19 was detected in Malaysia on 24 January 2020. There are a total of 22 cases being detected and 12 cases had travelled to affected countries and regions, 8 cases due to close contacts and 2 cases from a humanitarian mission (World Health Organization, 2020)

COVID-19 will spread through close contact from person to person via the open air, including between people who are physically near to each other. People who are infected, but do not have the symptoms can also spread the virus to other people. It is because the virus is still in its incubation period. Those people who came back from other high-risk countries might bring in the coronavirus to Malaysia. If they do not quarantine, they might spread the virus to their family, friends or their work partners. The virus could spread easily to people they interact with. So, the virus will spread to lots of people and threaten their lives.

As we all know, coronavirus Covid-19 is deathly. It spreads mainly through the air and will cause painful illness and even death to the people. The virus will infect all kinds of people, no matter what colour you are, how old you are, and how wealthy you are. So, necessary lockdown is needed although we have masks or sanitizers. This is because if the people are still interacting, there is a big possibility that they will be infected by the coronavirus.

First of all, our country Malaysia has taken action on this dangerous issue. Movement Control Order (MCO), Condition Movement Control Order (CMCO) and Recovery Movement Order (RMCO) are conducted in our country. The rules are very strict in the MCO, while rules of CMCO are less strict, and followed by RMCO.

A view of the near-deserted AKLEH Highway

during the MCO in Kuala Lumpur April 8, 2020

On 18 March 2020,our government carried out Movement Control Order (MCO) to control the movement of people in our country and fight against the coronavirus. At the same time, the societies’ economy also starts to collapse since MCO. It is because society is forced to stay at home, only a few people who want to buy groceries can go out. Besides that, most of the companies forced to lock down, only a few companies, which provide essential needs, can go on with their business. The closure of businesses and services, along with movement controls will have outsized impacts on private consumption and business investment. The income of many merchants has been drastically reduced due to people staying at home, thus, they will be at high risk of facing immediate cash flow constraints as their earnings dwindle. Even though certain companies and businesses are allowed to open for customer service during CMCO and RMCO, the effects of pandemic covid-19 on societies’ economy cannot be treated in a short time.

REFERENCE :

1. Arjuna Chandran Shankar,Covid-19: Malaysia SMEs see zero cash inflow for at least three months due to MCO. Retrieved on 30 March 2020, from: https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/covid19-malaysia-smes-see-zero-cash-inflow-least-three-months-due-mco

2. What is allowed under the MCO,CMCO and RMCO, Retrieved on 11 January 2021, from:   What is allowed under the MCO, CMCO and RMCO? | The Edge Markets

3. https://www.nottingham.edu.my/Economics/documents/2020/consolation-2.pdf

Prepared By: Yew Jin, Shao Hang & Wei Han.