Day 143 - I bookmarked the COVID-19 data infographic map from John Hopkins University when we were still in Sri Lanka in January. Over the last couple of months, of course, it has been sad to watch the numbers increase and shift geographically. Of course, we have also used the information to help determine that we needn't rush back to Canada. It will assuredly be just as safe to stay where we are until our planned departure. I'm sure we will know the situation more clearly when things settle down a bit by the end of the month.
Malaysia had very few reported cases when we arrived. However, the Ministry of Health here started testing early on. The numbers were still only in the double digits until quite recently. Luckily, we know the reason for the sudden increase too. Travel restrictions weren't in place nor large groups banned, at the end of February. A huge, multi-day religious observance was held at the famous Sri Petaling mosque. It was attended by 16,000 people, including 1,500 foreigners. A few weeks later, nearly two-thirds of the COVID-19 cases were directly related to the event. Many of those who returned to other countries also carried the virus. The government here was quick to act and is still trying to ensure that each attendee is tested. This made the numbers rise here around the middle of the month.
On the other hand, Canada seems to have been taken a bit by surprise. Of course, the medical system in Canada is much better placed than its neighbour to the south to deal with large scale public health warnings. Hospitals are not for profit, everybody's covered, and speedy decisions can be made for entire regions. Still, this virus has had many entrance points in North America. As there was little testing initially, I think we will see the numbers explode exponentially. This will prompt changes in rules and restrictions. Whereas, I predict that we'll see a linear increase in cases occur during our remaining nine days in Kuala Lumpur.
The two countries have a similar number of citizens. Just last night, the total number of infections and deaths in Canada increased over those in Malaysia. I'm sure we will continue to see an increasing gap.