IPOH, Dec 6 — Enforcement of the Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO) for 16 days until midnight last night in Zone B and Zone C of Taman Meru 2C here has brought a bitter and sweet experience for the affected residents.
Taman Meru 2C Nurul Islamiah Surau chairman, Mohamad Najib Mat Lazim said although the residents were overjoyed with the EMCO lifted, they were shocked with the death of a 65-year-old man from the same area early this morning at Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital after being infected with Covid-19.
“We were devastated to learn about the elderly man’s death about 1 am after his brother-in-law, also a resident of this housing area, died on Nov 28 from Covid-19 infection,” he said when met at an event to mark the end of the EMCO there, today.
According to Mohamad Najib, the EMCO had further strengthened ukhwah or relations among the residents who previously did not even know each other because of being busy with work and not mingling with neighbours.
“We can see that the relationship between neighbours now are friendlier and closer. This is all blessings and hopefully, this relationship continues,” he said.
Checks by Bernama this morning found that the security forces including police, Malaysian Armed Forces, Civil Defence Force and People’s Volunteers Corps (Rela) were removing the installed barbed wires around the housing area this morning.
The residents were also happy with the Ministry of Health (MOH) personnel cutting their pink wristbands, allowing the residents to go to public places freely.
The Perak Information Department was also busy creating awareness among residents of the need to observe the standard operating procedure (SOP) to curb Covid-19 outbreak in their area.
Another resident, Rohaida Awang, 63, was grateful after Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced yesterday the end of the EMCO in the area earlier than scheduled.
“During the EMCO, I could only pray that the situation would be back to normal and today I need to go out with my children to settle several unfinished matters including bill payments,” she said.
Last Wednesday, Ismail Sabri announced that the EMCO in Zone B and Zone C of Taman Meru 2C would be extended for another seven days from Friday (Dec 4) until Dec 10.
He said this was because they had yet to receive the results of the remaining samples of Covid-19 screening.
The government had earlier placed the area under the EMCO from Nov 20 to Dec 3. The MOH had conducted 1,793 tests and 66 positive cases were recorded in the locality. — Bernama