Hard to stick to SOPs during dine-in, say public members
KUCHING: The ‘no dine-in’ directive at eateries which is supposed to end today should also be extended to June 7 along with Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO), say some members of the public.
Engineer Moses Joseph, 55, said disallowing dine-ins should be continued as some folks are still stubborn when it comes to complying with the Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs) set by the authorities.
“Look at China – after a threemonth lockdown, there’s hardly any new Covid-19 cases because the people there really comply with government directives,” he said.
He added that if people were allowed to dine-in, they would not be disciplined in observing the SOPs.
He believed that extending the ban on dine-ins would ensure less physical contact among the public, thus reducing the risk of spreading the disease.
On Saturday, the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) announced the extension of the CMCO in Sarawak from May 18 to June 7 in view of the high number of Covid-19 cases in the state.
The CMCO had originally been extended in Sarawak until May 17.
For private sector employee Muhammad Fuad Ramli, 24, he supported the SDMC’s decision to impose no dine-in at eateries
throughout the CMCO as it is a good move to curb the spread of Covid-19.
He said he had witnessed people at eateries in the city area not taking the current situation seriously by carrying on as though everything was normal, with some not observing physical distancing and even coming together in a group of more than four people.
“If we decide to help the government curb the pandemic by not dining in at eateries, I believe it can help towards flattening the curve and reducing the number of daily cases in the state.
“If this is the sacrifice we must make, why not? It’s not forever, just until June 7. Let us come together and cooperate and work together in breaking the cycle of Covid-19 infection,” he said.
Business development executive James Zebedee Empati, 26, also agreed that the prohibition should be extended.
“No doubt I love eating out but I don’t mind staying home and ordering in or getting takeaway if it means reducing the number of Covid-19 cases here.
“The Covid-19 positive cases fluctuate and we in Kuching have not seen a single-digit record for months. Most cases are either asymptomatic or from social gatherings. Imagine when you are in a coffee shop or bar or restaurant and there’s no way for social distancing,” he said.
He also agreed that heavier penalties should be imposed throughout the CMCO against those who flout the SOPs.