KUALA LANGAT: It was just past midnight on Tuesday when Azizul Azmar Zakaria saw barbed wires being put up outside the flats in Jalan Pramugara where he lives.
His immediate concern was how to get medication for his wife who is suffering from severe depression.
He will need to wait for the result of his Covid-19 test in three days before he can drive to Hospital Banting to get medicines for his wife, provided his test result is negative.
“I watched soldiers placing the wires until 3am,” the flight despatcher said yesterday. “I have felt anxious ever since the movement restriction was imposed.”
Azizul texted a note to his employers on Tuesday after being screened for Covid-19. “I’m lucky that they’re supportive of my situation.”
His neighbour, Wilson Pilominothan said he has not been able to work since the movement control order was imposed and he is relying on his family’s savings to sustain himself.
“I’ve been eating only two small meals daily,” said the taxi driver. “There were times when I had to skip a meal to save money.”
Azizul and Pilominothan are among 200 residents of the flats in Kuala Langat that have been placed under the semi-enhanced movement control order (SEMCO).
Meanwhile, it’s almost business as usual in the three housing estates here under SEMCO. People are still moving about freely within the area and there is even a makeshift stall doing brisk business selling local delicacies.
The only signs that the area is under SEMCO are the barbed wire perimeter and the requirement to have visitors’ body temperature recorded at the entrance.
The three housing estates – Taman Langat Murni, Taman Langat Murni 2 and Taman Langat Utama – were placed under SEMCO on Tuesday after 20 Bagladeshis who live in the area tested positive for Covid-19.
The 20, who work as cleaners at the KL International Airport, are undergoing treatment at the Sungai Buluh Hospital.
A check with the crisis management centre in Jalan Murni showed that 3,646 individuals have been screened for the infection as of noon yesterday. Among them, 2,858 are Malaysians and 788 are foreigners.
There are about 9,000 residents in the affected area.
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