GEORGE TOWN, Aug 12 — The Penang government has urged the National Security Council (NSC) to review the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for dine-in at eateries.
Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said despite the decision to allow dine-in at restaurants throughout the state, many of its operators and employees were not ready to opt-in just yet as most of them were not fully vaccinated.
He suggested that restaurant operators and their employees should receive at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, while those who had not been vaccinated should wait until they receive their vaccine jabs before being allowed to serve customers.
“At the moment, we believe that this may work, but for safety concerns, we ask the MKN to review the guidelines again,” he told reporters at the Penang Saring Covid-19 (PSC-19) programme at Taman Manggis People’s Housing Project here today.
He noted that it was still mandatory for customers to be fully vaccinated before they can come to dine at restaurants.
On August 8, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced that fully vaccinated individuals in states under Phase Two of the National Recovery Plan (NRP) are allowed to dine at food outlets.
Besides Penang, the states in Phase Two of the NRP are Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Perak and Sabah, while Perlis and Federal Territory of Labuan are in Phase 3.
— Bernama
