The year 2020 has brought us many challenges and one of the biggest issues faced by every country all over the world is surely Covid-19. World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that this war against corona virus will continue go on until the vaccine is developed. As of 11th August 2020, the total confirmed cases recorded are 19,718,030 with a total of 728,013 confirmed deaths across 216 countries and areas.
In Malaysia, the daily reported cases is varied. Recently we are facing an increase number of positive cases which was attributed by the visiting activities during festive season. There are also some imported cases that are caused by travelers' reluctance to self-quarantine. No doubt that the impact of Covid-19 towards economy is very much affected. SMEs for instance are struggling during the pandemic and barely sustaining. Food industry is also not excluded to feel the pressure due to this pandemic.
Since Malaysia is in the phase of Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO), many economy sectors are able to operate in regards with the SOP. All premises have to follow the SOP highlighted by the MKN.
We have compiled some of the SOP to let you have a better and clearer understanding.
Restaurant (Dine-In)
Dine-in is allowed, however, premise owners have to ensure that the distance between each table is 1 meter away. They may use floor marking tape to mark the distance so that customers are aware of the physical distancing.
Besides that, all customers need to install MySejahtera app and take their body temperature before entering the premise. Therefore, premise owners must buy a thermometer which is able to measure body temperature accurately. Avoid using thermometer which gives insane reading that shows less than normal human being body temperature.
In addition, owners need to prepare hand sanitizer at the entrance so that customers are able to sanitize their hands before entering the premise. This practice might reduce the chance of getting infected by the virus. To minimize the contact between staff and customer, premise owners can also choose to install automatic hand sanitizer at their premise entrance. This automatic hand sanitizer usually comes in two types which are spray type and liquid type.
Restaurant Staff
For the restaurant staff and kitchen staff, it is advisable for them to wear face shield and disposable apron. Face shield can help to prevent droplets, aerosol, dust and liquid splashes. Face shield can be reusable by cleaning and sanitizing the inner and outer surface every day with soap, disinfectant or sanitizer.
On the other hand, disposable apron is meant for 1 time use only. Disposable apron can help to prevent the transfer of not only bacteria but also fluids.
Even though dine-in is allowed, extra precaution should still be implemented.
Morning Market (Pasar Pagi), Night Market (Pasar Malam) and Bazaria
For all pasar vendors (including pasar tani), the SOP has been revised on 6th August by MKN. (Link)
Vendors are recommended to follow the SOP strictly. Such SOP highlighted that vendors should wear face mask, face shield as well as disposable apron. They also need to wear disposable glove. There are many types of disposable gloves available on the market, such as nitrile gloves, latex gloves, vinyl gloves and PE gloves. PE gloves are the most affordable types among the others.
They also have to ensure that their staff's body temperature do not exceeded 37.5 degree Celsius. It is best if they could offer take away instead of dine in. All the cutlery used must be disposable to avoid different people using the same cutlery.
Restaurant Customers and Market Visitors
Customers and market goers themselves are also advised to take extra self-protection by wearing face mask to crowded places as highlighted by MKN. There are a lot of brand and type of face mask in the market recently and as a user, we have to be able to choose a good face mask.
The suitable face mask that needed to be wear is 3-ply face mask which has Bacterial Filtration Efficiency (BFE) > 95% and above. Government also has announced that the price per piece of face mask has been reduced to RM1.
In a nutshell, we should be blessed that we already entering RMCO phase in which most sector already resume to normal.
In time for us to escalate our economy do not forget that we still need to focus in fighting against covid-19. Stay focus and follow the SOP so that we could finally stop the spreading of covid-19.
