BARBED wires, armed soldiers and policemen are now regular features at the entrance to Kg Batu Muda Tambahan in Kuala Lumpur, an upper-middle class area in the city.

They will be there until June 5, after the National Security Council declared the area a Covid-19 hotspot and placed it under the enhanced movement-control order (EMCO) for two weeks beginning May 23.

Health authorities earlier this week detected 76 Covid-19 positive cases among 800 residents in 119 houses in the area.

Residents told The Malaysian Insight they are not surprised the area has been put under EMCO as new cases have been on the rise in the past several weeks.

Furthermore, they said, they had been in the red zone and are surrounded by areas that are also under the red zone. They are now praying that the EMCO will not be prolonged.

Retiree Shahrudin Ahmad told The Malaysian Insight there was nothing that he and his family could do now except to stay indoors, but they realised the seriousness of the situation after eight in the family contracted the virus.

Shahrudin said his father succumbed to the virus but fortunately the rest of the family are getting better.

The 61-year-old had just returned home from the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park (MAEPS) Covid-19 Quarantine and Low-Risk Treatment Centre (PKRC)  in Serdang when his area was placed under EMCO.

“I have recovered but my family are still in shock. How we got infected remains a mystery.

“My father didn’t make it, he passed away. My wife, children and grandchildren all tested positive,” he said.

Shahrudin said that for now residents were given food supplied by the relevant agencies.

“They gave it to us two days ago. Rice, sugar, tea, coffee and other basic and daily supplies,” he said.

Another resident told The Malaysian Insight he and his family are hoping for the recovery of a close relative.

“One of our close relatives is in critical condition in the intensive care unit (ICU). We only want him to recover. There is nothing much to complain about the EMCO or the authorities,” said the resident who did not want to be identified.

He said the majority of residents understand why EMCO had to be imposed in the area and did not wish to complain.

“Cases are rising daily, even the number of deaths. Furthermore, the infectivity rate is also at an alarming 1.2.

“The situation is really bad and most of us are scared. We now hope the EMCO will bring down the number cases and the situation here improves,” said the man of Chinese descent.

Among the strict guidelines under the EMCO is that residents are not permitted to leave the area, nor can outsiders go in.

Residents are also not allowed to move around freely in the neighbourhood. Monitoring and control are enforced by police and the military.

Those who are employed are not permitted to leave the area for work during the duration of the EMCO. Employers are to take note and allow them to work from home.

Kg Batu Muda Tambahan comes under the Batu parliamentary constituency whose Member of Parliament, P. Prabakaran, said the majority of the people here are of the middle and upper class.

“They have enough food and access to entertainment such as the internet, Astro or Netflix to keep them busy,” the first-term MP said.

“Food delivery service is allowed. The food is dropped off at the community hall and residents will have to pick it up from there.”

Prabakaran said the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) with the Social Welfare Department (JKM) are providing food supplies to the residents, adding they do not have to go out for groceries.

He also said so far, close to 500 residents have been tested for the virus and are waiting for the results.

Malaysia yesterday recorded 7,857 new Covid-19 cases, surpassing 7,478 from the previous day.

Kuala Lumpur recorded 561 cases, a drop from 760 the day before.

The cumulative number of cases nationwide now stands at 541,224. – May 28, 2021.