Sin Chew Daily

The national security council has made necessary adjustments to existing retail industry SOPs, including getting all retailers not just to measure the body temperatures of staff on a daily basis, but also record whether they present any of the symptoms of COVID-19, while making it mandatory for all retail industry employees and customers to download the MySejahtera app and register.

The coronavirus outbreak has far-fetching effects on the health of Malaysians as well as definitive impact on all aspects of our society, including economic and day-to-day activities.

In view of this, the authorities must remain constantly alert and flexible and make necessary changes as required in response to changes in the situation.

The coronavirus outbreak in the country has somewhat come under control in recent weeks with most daily increases in new positive cases hovering in the two-digit margin, with May 28 recording a low of only ten cases. Although the numbers went up to three digits on May 25 and 26, most of the newly reported cases have involved non-Malaysians.

Even as the situation has come under control, that doesn't mean we can drop our guard. While the authorities can relax some of the rules, such as allowing interstate travels for people to attend to urgent matters, they must also draw up appropriate preventive measures to prevent a rebound in the outbreak.

For example, in the revised SOP, the national security council want retail operators to register any coronavirus symptoms among their employees, and this will help them better understand the health conditions of their staff to minimize the risk of infection.

Where dining in service is concerned, although the revised SOP does not specify the dining-in time for customers, business owners are required to specify the number of patrons who can dine in at the same time.

This shows that while the authorities are loosening up the restrictions, they remain very cautious and careful.

While we give our thumbs-up to the authorities for their unrelenting effort to keep the virus in check, we need to also remind them that there should be uniformity and consistency in the execution of these SOPs to avoid inconveniences and confusion among the consumers.

Take the MySejahtera app for instance, the government has ruled that all retail employees and customers must download the app and register. Sure enough this will help in contact tracing, there is nevertheless lack of coordination among the retailers who have their own ways of registering their customers without a uniform mechanism. There is still room for improvement in this respect.

Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah pointed out recently that the country was in the final phase of recovery and that if the daily numbers of new confirmed cases could be maintained at single digit for over a week, it would be possible for full opening up of all economic, social and education sectors.

As we are waiting to get life back to normal, it is hoped that the authorities and members of the public continue to remain constantly alert to prevent the outbreak from staging a strong rebound under the new normal way of living.

As said earlier, the authorities must closely monitor the situation and make the necessary adjustments to ensure that the SOPs remain effective in containing the virus.