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Showing posts with label COVID19. Show all posts
Showing posts with label COVID19. Show all posts

Friday, August 4, 2023

Malaysia needs better infrastruchure

 


Matsuda said one way Malaysia can become more resilient in times of trouble is to ensure equal basic infrastructure for all, which includes efficiency in government assistance as well as making information more accessible.


“There is definitely room for improvement in terms of transparency and the dissemination of cash transfers. The cash transfers were a good idea but leakages and wastage did take place,”

- Yasuhiko Matsuda


Digital divide results in poor people having no access to government assistance during Covid-19

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia needs a stronger infrastructure in place in order to mitigate any future crises that may arise and impacting its people and economy, says World Bank country manager for Malaysia, Yasuhiko Matsuda.

Matsuda said while the majority of people suffered during the Covid-19 pandemic, smaller businesses and vulnerable households were impacted more, partly because they had little or no access to government assistance.

“One main reason was because of the digital divide. Poorer people had no Internet and so they didn’t have the information they needed to apply for these forms of assistance,” he said.

He was speaking to reporters during the “Building Malaysia’s Resilience, Lessons from Covid-19 Economic Impact and Policy Responses” conference by the World Bank Group yesterday.

Although nearly 80% of low-income households (monthly earnings of RM2,000 and below) received government assistance, about one-fourth of them did not have access to cash assistance.

More than one-third of households earning more than RM10,000 received the cash assistance.

According to Matsuda, one way Malaysia can become more resilient in times of trouble is to ensure equal basic infrastructure for all, which includes efficiency in government assistance as well as making information more accessible.

“There is definitely room for improvement in terms of transparency and the dissemination of cash transfers. The cash transfers were a good idea but leakages and wastage did take place,” he said.

Matsuda said one challenge that arose in terms of the cash assistance benefit was that while the government managed to cover a somewhat large population, it only managed to give each family a small amount.

He said despite the good intentions, the impact was rendered limited and this showed in the surveys done post-pandemic.

“Moving forward, the government can look at maybe a lesser number of families but provide them with a higher amount of assistance so it is more impactful,” he said.

For the middle class, the government can look into areas of employment or provide people with a mix of different things to try out, especially in this era of digitilisation, he said.

He added that the Madani Economy framework announced this year by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim covers these aspects as the government pledges to work towards realising them.

“A strong economy must go alongside a strong fiscal capacity. Now the key will be how it is implemented,” he noted.

Similarly, World Bank senior economist Ririn Purnamasari said the reality of the “caring effect” of the pandemic recorded some struggling to catch up despite Malaysia’s economy being revived.

“We risk widening the equality gap now and in the future, and as we’ve seen in the report, some sold their assets as a coping method which were meant to generate income,” she said.

The other strategies that could be scarring for people included decreasing essential food expenditure, borrowing from friends and family, and taking children out of school.

While not so evident in Malaysia, it was recorded in countries like Cambodia and the Philippines.

Additionally, Purnamasari said Malaysia needs to be aware of its fiscal capacity and resources, and how it can best help those that need it, while strengthening the economy together.

On top of that, the government should continue collaborating with other relevant bodies to offer labour market programmes for the community.

“One way we will see people moving forward is by upskilling and reskilling them. This will empower them and give them the ability to participate in different fields so it becomes more sustainable for them,” Purnamasari said.

Currently, Malaysia’s labour market is relatively underdeveloped with limited accessibility for workers in the informal sector.

“Integration of programmes across ministries and agencies and increased shock responsiveness can strengthen labour market policies.

“Hiring incentives should be balanced with well-designed training programmes to address skills mismatches,” she said.

Meanwhile, World Bank Group in its latest report noted that Malaysia emerged as a country with strong resilience and plenty of potential for recovery from the pandemic.

The six other countries surveyed for this report included Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Mongolia, Cambodia and the Philippines.

Notably, Malaysia’s diversified exports and strong trade sector contributed to its economic resilience during the pandemic-induced recession.

“Malaysia’s favourable business environment, ranked highest among the six countries studied according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index, enabled Malaysian firms to effectively navigate disruptions caused by the pandemic and capitalise on opportunities during the recovery,” the report said.

Among the key takeaways from the report was that the younger, less-educated and informal workers were more negatively affected than the white-collared professionals.

“Self-employed workers or those working for family businesses were more likely than wage workers to experience work stoppages and income loss.

“However, the survey showed businesses that were shedding workers became less productive,” the report said.

Women were also reportedly more susceptible to losing their jobs than men, especially those with a lower income, lower education and who were younger.

The report also showed that digitilisation became the go-to once the pandemic hit and movements were heavily restricted.

“The acceleration of technology adoption created an opportunity for firms and workers to be more productive.

“However, the digital divide was apparent in poorer regions with a lower share of workers working from home,” it said.

Lastly, the report said Malaysia had relied heavily on support to businesses in the form of liquidity, credit and lending below-the-line measures as opposed to providing direct support to households.

While countries like Cambodia, Mongolia and Indonesia recorded higher support for households, Malaysia saw a more thorough level of support for businesses.

“The support to businesses appeared to be more biased towards more productive and larger firms. While the support to households was pro-poor, it was not as responsive to shocks,” it said.

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Saturday, May 23, 2020

We will live with Covid-19 for months. Let's not deny it or panic ...

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Coronavirus 01


https://youtu.be/iHCAKJ-eaVQ


Coronavirus 02

https://youtu.be/GiXs9b70wQ8

 Dr. Faheem Younus, the chief of Infectious Diseases at University of Maryland, Upper Chesapeake Health, debunked some of the myths about coronavirus. #coronavirus #COVID-19 # coronavirusspread

 Now something practical and honest from the : Head of the Infectious Disease Clinic, University of Maryland,

1. We may have to live with C19 for months or years. Let's not deny it or panic. Let's not make our lives useless. Let's learn to live with this fact.

2. You can't destroy C19 viruses that have penetrated cell walls, drinking gallons of hot water - you'll just go to the bathroom more often.

3. Washing hands and maintaining a two-metre physical distance is the best method for your protection.

4. If you don't have a C19 patient at home, there's no need to disinfect the surfaces at your house.

5. Packaged cargo, gas pumps, shopping carts and ATMs do not cause infection.

Wash your hands, live your life as usual.

6. C19 is not a food infection. It is associated with drops of infection like the ‘flu. There is no demonstrated risk that C19 is transmitted by ordering food.

7. You can lose your sense of smell with a lot of allergies and viral infections. This is only a non-specific symptom of C19.

8. Once at home, you don't need to change your clothes urgently and go shower!

Purity is a virtue, paranoia is not!

9. The C19 virus doesn't hang in the air. This is a respiratory droplet infection that requires close contact.

10. The air is clean, you can walk through the gardens (just keeping your physical protection distance), through parks.

11. It is sufficient to use normal soap against C19, not antibacterial soap. This is a virus, not a bacteria.

12. You don't have to worry about your food orders. But you can heat it all up in the microwave, if you wish.

13. The chances of bringing C19 home with your shoes is like being struck by lightning twice in a day. I've been working against viruses for 20 years - drop infections don't spread like that!

14. You can't be protected from the virus by taking vinegar, sugarcane juice and ginger! These are for immunity not a cure.

15. Wearing a mask for long periods interferes with your breathing and oxygen levels. Wear it only in crowds.

16. Wearing gloves is also a bad idea; the virus can accumulate into the glove and be easily transmitted if you touch your face. Better just to wash your hands regularly.

17. Immunity is greatly weakened by always staying in a sterile environment. Even if you eat immunity boosting foods, please go out of your house regularly to any park/beach.

Immunity is increased by EXPOSURE TO PATHOGENS, not by sitting at home and consuming fried/spicy/sugary food and aerated drinks.


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Sunday, April 5, 2020

Worsen US coronavirus pandemic could be a global issue, Ignorance is bliss

2020-coronavirus-cases-world-map-inline
https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2020-coronavirus-cases-world-map/


Zhong Nanshan
https://youtu.be/2QVCe22Sqgw

https://youtu.be/UILmnQNeDuE

https://youtu.be/qYosR39XT7w

https://youtu.be/yYQz3dI65IQ

In an interview with CGTN on April 3, China's top respiratory scientist  Zhong Nanshan said lockdown measures adopted by some countries in Europe or the United States are not effective as they are not exactly implementing real lockdown. He said that the lockdown should go deeper and be stricter, stressing the importance of social distancing to stop the spread of the coronavirus. "Nobody can block, can stop the spreading or stop the infection of this kind of disease. But we can try to do our best to inhibit the spreading. So, that's what we are successful," he added.

 US must take more stringent containment measures: top respiratory expert

Zhong Nanshan, 80, China's revered infectious disease expert, warned on Thursday that if the COVID-19 outbreak continues to worsen in the US, it could become a global issue, since the number of US confirmed cases account for almost a quarter of global cases.

"I am now gravely concerned with the epidemic in the US, and if it gets worse, it will become a global problem," Zhong said on Thursday night during a COVID-19 international experience sharing and exchange video conference.

Zhong said that he noticed a significant increase in the number of COVID19 patients in the US over the past few days, suggesting that the country has begun mass screening of its citizens.

Screening in the US is progressing very advanced, Zhong noted. It takes about 15-20 minutes for a patient to get test results, while it currently takes an hour and a half in China, he said.

"US has made much progress in testing and determining the infected patients, but tracing all their close contacts, separating them, isolating them and cutting the transmission chain is much important," Zhong said.

Zhong urged the US federal government to adopt stronger measures to stem the spread of the pandemic in the US.

The US has reported more than 241,000 cases as of late Thursday, almost a quarter of confirmed cases in the world, and more than 5,800 deaths.

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COVID-19 cases in US top 300,000: Johns Hopkins University

The number of COVID-19 cases in the United States topped 300,000 by 3:40 p.m. local time Saturday (1940 GMT), according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

China, US cooperation key to battling coronavirus, restarting global economy

Whether the US and China can now pivot toward collaboration where interests overlap will shape the degree of global cooperation with regard to both more effectively combating the coronavirus and no less, in the huge challenge of restarting the global economy.

China's test kit providers call on world to stop smearing Chinese assistance

Chinese coronavirus test kits are desperately clamored for by many foreign clients, but some unfriendly Western media outlets have chosen to smear and discredit made-in-China products.

Westerners should embrace use of masks: Global Times editorial

Masks can help prevent people from being infected. The suggestion is scientific and Asian countries have a lot of experience in this regard. However, excessive cultural confidence has hindered the US and European countries from giving due attention to the experience of their Asian counterparts.


Ignorance is bliss

However, the kind ailing that United States' top brass has come at a devastasting cost to the Uncle Sam

https://youtu.be/sdre7SOd2hg

A news report appeared in the New York Times a week ago. It was probably glossed over, even in the Big Apple, as most New Yorkers struggle with overnight unemployment and keeping a roof over their heads.

It was conspicuously absent from CNN’s newsfeeds, too, despite its world-wide audience, as it remains preoccupied with ridiculing President Trump, while Fox News was per-script in blaming the virus on China.

Most of us outside the US were expectedly unaware of this significant event.

But on March 29, the NY Times reported about a commercial aircraft carrying 80 tonnes of gloves, masks, gowns and other medical supplies from Shanghai, touching down in New York last Sunday, marking the first of 22 scheduled flights that White House officials say will supply much-needed goods to the US by early April.

The NY Times is a credible 169-year-old American newspaper with a worldwide influence and readership. It has won 127 Pulitzer Prizes – more than any other newspaper.

The report quoted Lizzie Litzow, a spokeswoman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, who said the plane delivered 130,000 N95 masks, 1.8 million face masks and gowns, 10 million gloves and thousands of thermometers for distribution in NY, New Jersey and Connecticut.

Apparently, there should be subsequent flights to Chicago and Ohio, where supplies will be despatched to other states using private-sector distribution networks.

Now, here’s the gem. The NY Times added, attributing a White House spokesman, that the shipment from China which arrived in NY was the product of a public-private partnership – led by President Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner – with major health care distributors including McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health, Owens & Minor, Medline and Henry Schein.

Representatives from those companies had previously met with Trump at the White House.

So, while Trump was busy throwing punches at China, with his incessant China Virus remarks, he was, instead, quietly seeking help from the republic behind the scenes.

Trump isn’t the only one culpable, either. His Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, is equally pompous with his obsession in lambasting China for everything, including Covid-19, from which spawned the now-infamous “China Virus” line.

His remarks have become much more contagious than the virus itself with each passing day.

The virus struck Wuhan, China, in December last year, then spread to Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore, during which Trump was still dismissive of it.

He portrayed it as a mere flu bug, with his predictable barrage of false claims and fake news, and even until last month, he kept repeating that Covid- 19 was not as bad as the seasonal flu.

And of course, as the rest of Asia was busy stocking up on face masks, sterilisers and food supplies, he still insisted that “the United States is in a far better shape than other countries.”

None of us in Asia, especially, believed him. In fact, we feel sorry that many ordinary Americans didn’t wake up to the threat. Echoing their president’s sentiments, they assumed the US would be immune to it. Mr T shot from the hip again, and in his usual condescending manner.

After all, Asians deserve it, what with their filthy eating habits and dirty animal markets, right?

The British likely thought the same, and continued to attend huge gatherings like football matches, and went on pub crawls and walks in the park, too.

Asians watched in exasperation at the continuing nonchalance of these people.

Incredibly, as the bodies pile up at the morgue, there are US leaders who continue to engage in the meaningless blame game.

If they think they can gain sympathy with this inane approach, they should know that the virus isn’t going away, and eventually, victims will wise up. And as leaders, they will still have to tackle this health disaster.

As of now, US health workers have resorted to rationing protective gear or using homemade supplies, with the Department of Health and Human Services saying it estimates the US will require 3.5 billion masks if the pandemic lasts a year.

The NY Times, quoting Litzow, said “the overwhelming demand has set off a race among foreign countries, American officials at all levels of government and private individuals to acquire protective gear, ventilators and other much-needed goods from China, where newly built factories are churning out supplies even as China’s own epidemic wanes.”

It added that the US was working with manufacturers from Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan, India, Honduras and Mexico.

Until a few months ago, the US was halting trade with China, imposing barriers and tariffs, and kicking out US-based Chinese scientists, but now, the NY Times reports that “American governors, mayors and lawmakers have been trying to arrange their own shipments of products from China, with some saying the federal government has been moving too slowly, which risks losing out to other foreign buyers.

“American officials have leaned on sister cities and province relationships, liaison offices they had set up in China to attract investment and connections with state-run Chinese companies to try to secure scarce equipment.”

It also said that the private sector, comprising a motley crew of wealthy individuals, charitable organizations and corporate executives with connections to China, have also stepped forward to help deliver goods to the United States.

Tragically, as Italy and Spain, among other nations, battle helplessly against the Covid-19 virus, the European Union’s miserable failure casts a long shadow. No EU member has sent aid to their Italian brethren.

The politicians can question China’s motives in its aid offer, in what is now dubbed the “face mask diplomacy”, but real help goes a long way in tough times. Talk is cheap, President Trump.

Representing the private sector, Jack Ma, the Chinese billionaire and co-founder of Alibaba, donated a million masks and 500,000 test kits to the US.

Other benefitting countries of the masks will include Spain, Belgium and France, with the same resource already sent to Czech Republic, Greece and Serbia.

For Malaysia, China has donated 100,008 units of novel coronavirus nucleic acid diagnostic (PCR-Fluorescence Probing) test kits, 100,000 pieces of N95 face masks, 500,000 pieces of surgical masks, 50,000 units of personal protective equipment (PPE) and 200 ventilators.

The Committee of 100, a leadership organisation of Americans of Chinese descent, has raised US$1mil (RM4.3mil) to purchase medical supplies and protective gear from around the world to help their country.

Against this backdrop of generosity and care, Pompeo still had time to hold a global teleconference on March 29, as he continued his offensive on China for its alleged campaign of misinformation on the virus.

Ibut yourself, President Trump. Likewise, Pompeo.

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Germany says US 'hijacked' 200000 masks at Bangkok airport


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