We’ll take Hajiji’s order on dine-in rule, says Sandakan council

 

Some eateries in Sabah are allowing dine-in customers since last Tuesday. (Bernama pic)

KOTA KINABALU: The Sandakan municipal council is the first local authority in the state to officially follow the chief minister’s announcement on allowing dining-in at eateries despite no SOPs having been released.

Its president Wong Foo Tin was quoted as saying in an Astro Awani report last night that all restaurants and food stalls in the district will be allowed to accept dine-in customers starting today.

He said the decision was made in view of chief minister Hajiji Noor’s announcement earlier this week.

“Dining-in at eateries will be permitted from tomorrow (July 3), as announced by the chief minister on Monday.

“The operating time is only from 6am to 8pm. Only two people are allowed per table and the restaurant can only have a maximum of 50% of the venue’s capacity,” he said.

Wong advised restaurants and the public to strictly follow the SOPs fixed by health authorities, such as checking temperature and scanning the MySejahtera app before entering the premises.

Hajiji had announced on Monday that several social and economic activities would be allowed in the state, including dining-in at restaurants, hotels and other eateries, while hair salons and stalls selling vegetables, fish and fruits by the roadside could also reopen the next day (June 29).

Subsequently, eateries started to accept dine-in customers the following day but the absence of a revised SOP and rumours of operators being fined, which turned out to be untrue, forced many to ban dining-in again and return to serving takeaways only.

The uncertainty was heightened later the same day after senior minister for security Ismail Sabri Yaakob reminded all states to abide by the regulations fixed by the National Security Council (MKN) while the country was under the current lockdown.

Sabah local government and housing minister Masidi Manjun then said the state had submitted a new set of SOPs for Phase 1 of the national recovery plan to the federal government.

The state government is still waiting for the SOPs to be gazetted. - FMT