PUTRAJAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Barber shops, hairdressing salons and beauty parlours in Malaysia can resume operations next Wednesday (June 10), said senior minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri said open markets, morning markets, night markets and bazaars can resume operation on June 15.
However, operators, traders, and customers must follow stringent standard operation procedure to prevent Covid-19 transmission.
He also said Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin would update the public on Sunday on the decision made on the status of the current conditional movement control order.
This comes as Malaysian health officials reported 38 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, taking the cumulative total to 8,304. The health ministry also reported one new death, raising total fatalities to 117.
Mr Ismail Sabri said the hair care and beauty sector contributed RM13.5 billion (S$4.41 billion) a year to the nation's GDP and involved a workforce of about 74,500 people at 16,728 registered outlets.
"We will allow basic hair cuts, hair washing, trimming and shaving of beards and moustaches, hair treatment, manicures, pedicures, facial washing and treatment," he said.
However he said all those providing the services must wear a mask, face shield and gloves at all times.
"They must change gloves before attending to the next customer and customers must wear disposable aprons," he said at a press conference on Saturday.
He advised senior citizens above the age of 60 to make an appointment to avoid contact with too many people, and suggested hair salons to set a specific time slot for older customers.
He also said it would be safer for barbers to cut hair at customers' homes.
On markets, he said the SOP prepared by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall for open markets (6am to 11am), morning markets (6am to 11am), night markets (4pm to 10pm), and bazaars (5pm to 11pm) would be applied nationwide.
He said it should be located in an open area and the crowd should only flow in one direction.
Traders and customers must also use or download the MySejahtera app to facilitate contract tracing in the event of a possible exposure to Covid-19.
On the proposal to allow more people to pray at mosques, Mr Ismail Sabri said they had agreed in principle, but the number of those allowed inside would depend on the size of the mosques as social distancing needed to be observed.
However, he said the final announcement would be made after getting the consent of the respective Sultans in each state and the King's consent would be sought for states without sultans, he said.
