Siti Nurliza Samsudin; Nur Layali Mohd Ali Khan
Box Article: Impact Of Covid-19 To The Malaysia’s Labour Market
Introduction
- A new virus named COVID-19 has been identified in Wuhan, China on 7 January 2020 and verified by the World Health Organization (WHO). On 13 January, the first case reported outside of China was in Thailand. The virus then found its way to Malaysia on 24 January whereby the Ministry of Health confirmed the first three positive cases among incoming Chinese tourists into the country. On 30 January, as the virus spread across 18 countries, the WHO announced COVID-19 as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
- A month after WHO identification and verification of the virus, Malaysia halted visa applications of tourists from Wuhan, as well as areas in the Hubei province as an initial action to contain the virus. Health checks were also conducted in Malaysia’s borders inclusive of land and water. In addition, there were special lanes for those arriving from China and quarantines were compulsory for these groups.
- March 2020 saw the virus escalated to affect more and more countries where European countries has become the epicentre of COVID-19. The number of positive cases detected in Malaysia had also risen sharply from 22 in February to 238 cases in the middle of March.