After being in close contact with Bandar Kuching MP Kelvin Yii Lee Wuen who was tested COVID-19 positive, former Malaysia Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad began practising self-quarantine at home. Mr Yii is currently receiving treatment at Sarawak General Hospital, according to The Straits Times.
Dr Mahathir was reported to have undergone the test for COVID-19 last Tuesday (17 March), and he will still be resuming the 14-day quarantine. In regards to the Movement Control Order, Dr Mahathir had posted a video onto his official Twitter account (@chedetofficial) yesterday (22 March), telling Malaysians to follow the Order and stay at home.
“The test came out negative. He has been cleared,” said the aide when contacted on Sunday (22 March), as reported on The Star.
Duduk di rumah, patuhi perintah kawalan pergerakan, isi masa lapang dengan perkara berfaedah.
Saya ucap terima kasih kepada petugas di barisan hadapan, doktor, jururawat, polis dan tentera yang memastikan kita semua selamat. pic.twitter.com/TZtaNtoD18
— Dr Mahathir Mohamad (@chedetofficial) March 22, 2020
Expressing that it is indeed boring to stay at home with nothing to do, he tells everyone that he had been utilising his free time with activities like reading and writing.
“Assalamualaikum, I am currently undergoing quarantine at home. However, it is very boring and I’m trying to utilise the time by reading books, writing, watching videos and reading stories that are accessible. It is difficult to stay at home for days, but what can we do?”
Dr Mahathir also gave a warning to Malaysians regarding the severity of the spread of COVID-19 by telling them that if they do not adhere to the Movement Control Order, the disease will spread even quicker and many more people will lose their lives.
“Please do not ignore the instructions and move around like you usually do. If we don’t do this (quarantine), the disease will spread and many people will die, so we must stay home,” said Dr Mahathir in his video.
While he spreads the message to encourage people to stay at home for the sake of curbing the spread of this coronavirus, he expressed gratitude to the people in the frontlines.
“I want to thank those who are stationed in the frontlines, including the officers in the hospitals, police, military, as well as others who are forced to carry out their duties to ensure our safety. We thank them for their service.”
In one of his previous tweets on 19 March, he asked everyone to take this pandemic seriously as it is very dangerous. Dr Mahathir also mentioned that all precautionary measures should be carried out because COVID-19 is a type of “plague” and it will affect tens and hundreds of thousands of people.
“All precautionary measures should be carried out immediately, do not take this matter lightly. This pandemic is very dangerous. It is a type of “plague” that can spread and infect tens or hundreds of thousands of people.”
