Just a week and a half into the new calendar year, there were already whispers that the government is considering implementing a total lockdown in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

So, is another lockdown imminent?

Sticking to targeted measures

Well, the answer is: not at the moment.

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin told New Straits Times that despite the increase in COVID-19 cases due to the spread of the Omicron variant, the government is not looking at imposing another total lockdown.

At the moment, the government will stick to enforcing targeted measures in its effort to stop the spread of the highly infectious variant in the community.

While another total lockdown would snuff out the virus once and for all, Khairy said there are consequences to that.

"Of course, there will be zero cases in the event the country returns to imposing a lockdown. However, at what cost? The economy of the country as well as the mental health and wellbeing of the people will be affected.

"That is why we do not want to mention the 'L' word. We want to avoid that," he was quoted as saying.

Now that Malaysia has reopened its borders, Khairy said that the government is looking to move forward, and closing the borders again and imposing another lockdown would be akin to taking a step back.

Can't afford another lockdown

Responding to criticisms on the country's handling of handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, Khairy said in a tweet on Sunday (9 January) that Malaysia can't afford to go through anymore lockdowns.

This was because lockdowns would badly affect the country's economy and the people's welfare.

Bermaksud kita mengurus kes positif dengan berkesan, ⬆️ vaksinasi, jaga SOP, #TRIIS agar kadar kematian ⬇️, penggunaan ICU ⬇️ dan kemasukan hospital ⬇️. @DGHisham mendapat sokongan penuh daripada saya untuk menjalankan tugas sebagai KPK Malaysia.

— Khairy Jamaluddin ??? (@Khairykj) January 9, 2022

"Malaysia cannot afford lockdowns in terms of the economy and the people's welfare. Our strategy is mitigation.

"This means that we manage positive cases effectively, increasing vaccination, adhering to the standard operating procedures, #TRIIS (test, report, inform, isolate and seek) so death rates, intensive care unit usage and hospital admissions reduce," he tweeted.