The United States of America has the highest number of Covid-19 cases among all the countries affected by the deadly virus. As of now, they have 1,745,803 cases including 490,130 recoveries and 102,107 deaths.
Among all the states, New York has the highest number of infections with about 361,000 cases and 23,282 deaths at the time of writing. Among these infections and death cases, about 30 Malaysians living in New York have been infected and at least 10 have died from Covid-19.
This was reported by the Malaysia Association of America (MAA), according to The Star. Its president, Kim Bong said that two of the Malaysians who died from the virus were committee members of the association.
“One was a restaurant owner, while the other was infected at the subway. This is a setback,” he said in a telephone interview.
Kim added that a Malaysian couple based in Brooklyn were also among those who died and said that the MAA got a call last week informing them about the couple’s deaths.
He also mentioned that he was made aware of about 30 Malaysians who were infected by Covid-19 in New York.
Kim, who runs a shipping and electronics business, said that the MAA has contributed by arranging funeral services for the Malaysians.
“The problem in New York is that very few people took precautions at the start of the pandemic, such as wearing face masks. This only came much later ” he said.
The MAA, whose members have been holding online meetings so far, has helped by donating face masks to hospitals and sending food to frontline personnel.
A member of the Malaysia Association in America (MAA) holding a box of items to be donated to a hospital in New York City.
MAA co-chairman Jack Liaw, who operates an accounting business in Flushing, Queens said that he was deeply saddened by the deaths of the Malaysians.
“Due to the lockdown, we could not attend their funerals to pay our last respects. It is sad that they lost their lives in a foreign land far from home,” he said, adding that it was good that the MAA has helped families by connecting them to funeral homes.
“The situation is such that even getting a funeral service is very difficult, due to the staggering number of Covid-19 deaths in New York.”
It’s heartbreaking to hear of our fellow Malaysians who are suffering in New York. We really hope that they will stay safe over there.
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