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KUALA LUMPUR: Businesses in Kuala Lumpur were cautiously opened when people returned to the city center on Monday (May 4), the first day under Malaysia’s conditional movement control (MCO) order.
Although dining is now permitted with social distancing measures, some restaurants and cafes in Pudu decided to stick with takeout, after weighing the potential increase in income against the possibility of becoming the next COVID-19 group.
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Chin Seng Fatt, who has run his cafeteria for more than 20 years, said the additional steps from removing details from diners to setting tables 2 meters away were not worth the additional sponsorship.
“If we had to serve 50 people a day, and suddenly there is a case, what would happen? Will they all be called and quarantined by one person? It is better to wait and see,” he said.
Cafe owner Chin Seng Fatt (right) decided not to allow customers to dine despite the government’s announcement about reducing the COVID-19 curves. On the left is Mr. Mah Tak Yee, pork noodle vendor. (Photo: Vincent Tan)
A pork noodle vendor at his coffee shop, Mah Tak Yee, said everyone expected the MCO to rise on May 12 to see if the guidelines would change.
“Now you have to reduce the eating space to make sure there is enough social distance. But if a customer sits at a table, it’s yours until he leaves. How can we chase away a customer? he said.
READ: COVID-19 – Johor will comply with federal government decision to open economic sectors with care, says prime minister
Malaysia forced the MCO to restrict domestic and international travel on March 18 with the aim of curbing the spread of COVID-19. Six weeks into the MCO, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced last Friday that the government will ease some of the restrictions to allow most companies to resume operations.
Total losses from weeks of economic downtime were estimated at RM63 billion ($ 14.6 billion), he said.
On Monday morning, the Kuala Lumpur traffic police reported a nearly 30 percent increase in traffic volume compared to Sunday morning, according to Bernama.
An overview shows increasingly crowded streets as Malaysia reopens most businesses, after a movement control order was imposed to combat the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, May 4, 2020. REUTERS / Lim Huey Teng
Frame maker Leong Yi Jen, who has been doing business in Pudu for almost 25 years, said Monday’s reopening was also a way to assess the situation.
Clients started calling her as soon as the conditional MCO was announced, she said.
“We will have to see how the pandemic numbers are going, because they will see, after so many days of double-digit cases, it suddenly increased again,” he said, referring to the 105 new cases on Saturday 105 and Sunday 122, a maximum two weeks. .
Frame maker Leong Yi Jen checks her order book while receiving calls from eager customers to pick up her products. (Photo: Vincent Tan)
Meanwhile, within Suria KLCC, one of the Klang Valley’s main shopping locations, many stores have reopened despite less foot traffic.
Azmi Rasa, who oversees a candy stall in the mall’s reception area, said he and his colleague had arrived at 8 a.m. to disinfect your stall and check your stocks, some of which had to be replenished when their expiration date passed.
“We started selling online during the MCO, and it gradually grew. We reopened the position here because it is also a requirement of the mall after the conditional MCO was announced, ”he said.
“Actually, the crowd today is within expectations. The number of visitors had been reduced since February when a person collapsed at KLCC, even though it turned out that she was not a coronavirus patient, “added Mr. Azmi.
NOT ALL STATES DECIDE TO OPEN
Across the country, most states have chosen not to implement the conditional MCO as stipulated by the federal government.
Kedah, Sabah, Pahang, Penang, Kelantan and Sarawak have decided to completely avoid easing the MCO restrictions, while Selangor, Perak and Negeri Sembilan said they would limit the number of companies that can resume operations and restrict meals in the restaurants.
Chow En Lai, who runs an auto shop in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, said he did not feel safe.
“My workshop is near a market where they found a COVID-19 case, and it had to be disinfected and all the merchants had to be examined. Right now I’m just doing business by appointment, “he said.
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