Dear Diary,
It was a ‘new normal’ – as the prime minister calls it – Easter. A quiet steamboat meal for lunch and leftovers for dinner. It is a glimpse of what it might be like once the Movement Control Order (MCO) finally ends. Socialising will not be the same for a while.
But as our columnist Veronica Shepherdson wrote today, we should be thankful we have a roof over our heads and food on the table.
Meanwhile, someone in government is trying to corner the job market.
Here’s how Day 26 of the MCO unfolded.
8.37am: WHAT THE FART? – A friend sent an article from Daily Star which claims the coronavirus can be spread via farts! Damn, I have to stop eating baked beans. However, the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of Tongzhou district in Beijing had said farts normally do not constitute another transmission route of Covid-19, unless someone takes a good and rather close sniff of gas from a pantless patient!
9.51am: GOOD AND BAD – Boris Johnson is in the early stages of recovery just as the number of new infections climbed by 5,234, leaving Britain with 78,991 Covid-19 cases.
10.31: PLAY ON – Not all sports cancelled.
Football leagues in session
Asia: Tajikistan, Taiwan (kicks off today)
Europe: Belarus
Africa: Burundi
Central America: Nicaragua— Bear (@abearfromSEA) April 12, 2020
11.01am: YEA! – Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish leaves hospital after testing positive for coronavirus calling medical staff “absolutely brilliant”.
2pm: ONLY GREEN ZONES MAKE THE CUT – Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaacob says the operation of barbershops and hair salons during the third phase of MCO is subject to approval and is for green zone areas only. He also says the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry is monitoring the supply of essential items.
3.18pm: DISASTER ON AIRCRAFT CARRIER – More than 10 per cent of the 4,800 crew of the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier have tested positive for Covid-19. It comes days after the navy chief resigned for removing the ship’s captain who had written a letter alleging the Pentagon was not paying adequate attention.
4pm: WHERE’S OUR SPORTS CULTURE? – Sports administrator and former journalist Ghaz Ramli says it is important to create a sporting culture in Malaysia before those at the top think about a sports industry on today’s The RSS with HD.
https://twentytwo13.my/sports/sports-culture-needed-to-create-sports-industry/
4.12pm: BAD COP – Reports surface a police inspector had been arrested after he allegedly abducted and raped two Mongolian women who were stopped at a roadblock.
5.03pm: THREE MORE DEATHS – 113 patients were discharged today bringing the total cured to 2,108. This is 45 per cent of the 4,683 cases, including the 153 new ones. Three deaths take the number of fatalities to 73.
5.35pm: COVIDIOT OF THE DAY – Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan says government MPs will head all government-linked companies. It’s amazing when the rakyat is facing troubled times due to Covid-19, this is his priority.
6pm: VATICAN RAG – Since it’s Easter, here’s a Tom Lehrer number to celebrate. The American turned 92 on Thursday and shares the same birthday with Robbie Fowler, who was called God by Liverpool fans. Happy Easter folks.