I was shocked when I read a report of the national medical director of National Health Service (NHS) England, Prof Stephen Powis saying that every citizen in the United Kingdom must play a part if the number of deaths from the Covid-19 pandemic are to be kept below 20,000.

But it was a greater shock to read of the prediction of the man in charge of fighting the Covid-19 pandemic in the United States, Anthony Fuaci, the director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, that Covid-19 could claim from 100,000 to 200,000 lives.

It was only a few days ago that American President Donald Trump had optimistically spoken of restarting the American economy by Easter Sunday on April 12, but he has to make a humiliating retreat after having squandered six precious weeks at the start of the pandemic and saw the full horror of United States becoming the new epicentre of the pandemic – topping the world as the nation with the most number of confirmed cases exceeding 140,000 cases with a death toll of 357 in the last 24 hours.

As we are one-tenth of USA population, is the Malaysian government expecting some 10,000-20,000 deaths from the Covid-19 pandemic as the American authorities are expecting 100,000 to 200,000 to die in the pandemic?

These grim predictions of 20,000 deaths in United Kingdom and 100,000-200,000 deaths by the very people in charge of fighting the Covid-19 pandemic in UK and US respectively should be salutary reminders to Malaysians who take light of the Covid-19 outbreak and do not want to comply with the Movement Control Order (MCO).

While the government should be ‘firm, creative, flexible, nimble” in waging the invisible war against Covid-19 and enforcing the MCO, one important lesson must be driven home – that the invisible war against Covid-19 can only be won with the support, solidarity and the unity of all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or party politics.

The Covid-19 does not recognise race, religion, region or party politics.

It was initially widely viewed as a ‘Chinese problem’ and then an ‘Italian problem’, when it is in fact ‘everybody’s problem’. Now, it seems to be safer to be in China than to be outside from the Covid 19 pandemic!

Yesterday, Health Ministry director-general Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah said the new clusters among the 150 new Covid-19 cases confirmed positive include fourth and fifth-generation clusters from the Sri Petaling tabligh gathering on Feb. 27 – March 1. Although the Sri Petaling tabligh gathering was oft-mentioned, the Covid-19 infections had nothing to do with religion but everything to do with large gatherings.

The South Korean case of Patient 31 is a case in point that widespread Covid-19 infections have nothing to do with religion but is caused by close contact in large gatherings.

The super-spreader, Patient 31, infected many others after attending services at the Shincheongji Church of Jesus and after attending a buffet dinner.

In northern India, some 40,000 people from 20 villages were put under strict quarantine over Covid-19 infections after a religious leader died of Covid-19 after returning from a trip to Europe’s virus epicentre Italy and Germany.

In New Orleans, the Louisiana city known as the “Big Easy” famed for its jazz and nightlife has become an epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic gripping the United States and caused America to leapfrog China and Italy as the country with most confirmed infections.

The Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans on March 9 has been described as a “perfect storm” for the spread of Covid-19 as large crowds packed into the city’s French Quarter, sharing drinking cups and passing round traditional bead necklaces.

There is an explosion of Covid-19 cases in New Orleans which had less than 100 cases less than two weeks ago, but has now 1,350 confirmed cases and 73 deaths.

In its spread to 203 countries and territories, the Covid-19 pandemic knows no race, religion, region or politics.

The UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres has called for a global ceasefire which would “help create corridors for life-saving aid” and “bring hope to places among the most vulnerable to COVID-19.” He pointed out that refugee camps and people with existing health conditions are most at risk of suffering “devastating losses.”

Pope Francis stressed that the current emergency of Covid-19 “knows no barriers” and urged nations in conflict to respond to the appeal by the United Nations Secretary General for an “immediate global ceasefire in all corners of the world” and to “focus together on the true fight of our lives” – the “battle” against the coronavirus.

Malaysians should similarly respond by convening an emergency meeting of Parliament to demonstrate support, unity and solidarity of the Malaysian people, regardless of race, religion, region or party politics for a national strategy to counter the existential threat posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

(Media Statement (2) by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang on Monday 30th March 2020)