Hey guys, remember the good old days when Malaysia was praised for the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic?

Well, sorry to burst your bubble, it's time to let bygones be bygones because those good days are long gone.

A cautionary tale

With the number of daily COVID-19 cases hovering above the 3,000 mark almost every day now, it is safe to say that the country has been struggling to contain the spread of the pandemic.

Things have gotten so bad that we've become a cautionary example for our neighbour Indonesia.

On Thursday (6 May), Indonesia's Ministry of Health sent out a tweet reminding its citizen to stay home and stay safe as health officials have detected three new variants of the virus in the country: the B.1.1.7 strain (UK variant), the B.1.3.5.1 strain (South Africa variant) and the B.1.6.1.7 strain (India variant).

The new variants have been listed as possible cause for the sudden surge in COVID-19 cases in the country.

However, Indonesia has managed to stabilise the pandemic situation in the country ahead of the Hari Raya Aidilfitri period, bringing the number down to around 5,000 cases from 12,000 in January.

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To drive the message home, the Ministry's spokesperson, Dr Siti Nadia Tarmizi M. Epid, used Malaysia and India as precautionary example in a seperate tweet.

"Learn from India and Malaysia, we certainly do not want Indonesia to end up like them. You are reminded to always follow the 3M health protocols and avoid going out if it's not necessary,” the tweet read.

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On top of that, Dr Siti has advised her fellow Indonesians to stay at home, and abide to the rules set by the government.

The situation in Indonesia

While Malaysia had the upper hand when it came to the handling of the pandemic in the early days, the COVID-19 situation these days has, sadly, been reversed.

According to Malaysiakini, our country is faring a bit worse compared to Indonesia.

By adjusting the number of daily cases to match the size of each country's population, Malaysia recorded 100 cases per one million people.

Indonesia, meanwhile, only recorded 18 cases per million, which is a stark contrast compared to our country.

It is high time that we work together to flatten the curve once again. We certainly do not want to end up like India, kan?