By Tay Tian Yan, Sin Chew Daily

I have to admit that I have started to miss those good old days even though the lockdown, or should I rather say the "movement control order", has just gone into effect.

In the morning, I won't be able to visit my favorite coffee shop and have a freshly toasted bread with a cup of aromatic coffee to start my day, because the shop is no longer able to provide dine-in service for the time being. Only takeaway!

I can still go to my office to work, as the media business is seen as "essential" and is not banned. However, my office is very much quieter now, as many have to stay home or work from home. The entire work environment and operation mode have changed dramatically.

After work, I find myself having nowhere else to go except home. I used to go to the badminton court or visit the gym for a workout but from today, all these venues will stay closed for the next two weeks.

At night, no dinner gatherings for me, no seeing clients at a restaurant. Perhaps, like many other Malaysians, I should rush to the nearest supermarket to stock up some daily necessities.

When I turn on my TV or stare into my cellphone at home, all I get is news about COVID-19 and practically nothing else.

Lying on bed late at night, I may be wondering how I'm going to spend the next two weeks, and what after two weeks!

Will we be able to defeat the horrendous virus? And can we cope with the economic crisis that comes with it?

Indeed, this country has changed completely overnight. We simply need to learn to adapt ourselves to life under a "movement control order".

As if that is not enough, the question that pops up in many people's heads is not how to adjust our lives but how to survive the next 14 days.

Shops which are closed for business will have no revenue generated, and wage earners don't get paid if they don't go to work. Businesses will have to stop running and many are facing the destiny of winding up soon.

We are living in a critical moment of terrifying viral spread, the darkest moments of our lives.

Many might complain about the inconveniences but let me tell you, the decision is a right one, and indeed an absolutely essential one.

Perhaps we are not the worst hit country in the world, at least we are still a long way from countries like Italy, Iran, Spain, South Korea and France. But if we don't take the drastic and resolved actions, we will soon become like them.

The trend over the past few days is pointing to the fact that we are very much moving on this track!

The number of confirmed cases over the past several days has increased by three digits each, not unlike Italy and Iran during the earlier stage of their explosive growth.

Italy reported only 152 confirmed cases in the second week, shooting up to over a thousand in week three, more than 6,000 in week four and 20,000 plus in week five. Such an explosive growth pattern is also seen in Iran, Spain and France.

Like our former deputy health minister Dr Lee Boon Chye has said, Malaysia is no longer in the containment stage as we have now moved into the mitigation stage.

The authorities must now track over 14,000 Malaysian participants at the enormous tabligh event at Masjid Seri Petaling. It is a tall order to get all of them tested and quarantined.

We have so far only managed to track around half of them, and many of the participants are believed to be illegal foreign workers who will never turn up on their own accord for COVID-19 testing. These people are like walking virus time bomb ready to go off any time, or has already done so!

The actual number of infectees may be higher, or very much higher, than what MOH is telling us.

Yes, we all miss those good old days when we could live our lives the ways we wanted. But we must also accept the fact that we cannot do this now because the environment has changed and the virus may be lurking around us waiting for the right time to strike.

Movement control and quarantine offer the only chances for us to segregate ourselves from the virus. Of course, we need to bear the inconveniences as well as the consequent economic costs.

We need to come to terms with the reality and persist in our efforts to claim the ultimate victory. The price we now pay will prove to be worthwhile in the end!