A family in Terengganu has had to endure condemnation and accusation from the people in their village after one of them was identified as the index case that allegedly caused 127 people to be infected with Covid-19.
Mohd Adli Mohamad said that it was more painful dealing with the criticism and cold treatment from his own people than enduring the pain from being infected with Covid-19, reported BERNAMA.
The 36-year-old from Kampung Matang said that his family had caused the Matang cluster, the largest Covid-19 cluster in the Hulu Terengganu District.
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“For the people in Hulu Terengganu, especially those in Telemong, my entire family and I are extremely sorry for the problems you are facing right now and for having to live in fear due to the fast spread of the disease,” he said.
“But what happened was not intentional, and certainly not to hurt anyone. Our hope is that the public will stop punishing us as it is very emotionally depressing.”
According to BERNAMA, Mohd Adli’s brother-in-law had returned to Kampung Matang during Ramadhan to ensure that his wife was doing well in confinement after giving birth to their child. He had obtained police permission to travel interstate and even took a Covid-19 test which came out negative.
“Only God knows how he was infected with the disease,” Mohd Adli said.
“Soon after, one by one of our 48 family members (including brother-in-law’s family) were tested positive and were taken to hospital for treatment and undergo quarantine at stipulated locations.”
“Maybe we were careless while socialising, causing many of our family members to be infected with Covid-19.”
Mohd Adli Mohamad (right)
Even though he and his family had fully recovered, he said that they continued to face cold treatment from the villages who even went to the extent of asking them to move out of the village.
He added that it even became difficult to buy essential items from a sundry shop as they would be ignored by the owner for fear of being infected, even when they told him that they had fully recovered.
“He ended up having to ask for permission from the authorities to go to a supermarket located far from his home just to avoid causing disharmony in the village,” he said.
Mohd Adli explained, however, that he and his family would not blame the villagers for the way they were treating his family as they see it as just a misunderstanding.
“Despite being told that we no longer infecting people, some of the villagers still find it difficult to accept it with an open heart,” he said.
“But we have to be strong in facing this challenge and hope that everything will return to normal soon.”
He then reminded everyone to continue doing their part to curb the spread of Covid-19 and also to avoid having to go through the same experience as him.
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