Minister to appeal MCO ban on outdoor exercise, sports after backlash
The Youth and Sports Ministry will seek new guidelines for sports and recreation under the third movement control order (MCO 3.0) - barely 24 hours after a policy shift that banned all sports activities and outdoor exercises in affected areas.
The ban itself came 24 hours after conflicting guidelines on outdoor exercise, including those which allowed for it...
The Youth and Sports Ministry will seek new guidelines for sports and recreation under the third movement control order (MCO 3.0) - barely 24 hours after a policy shift that banned all sports activities and outdoor exercises in affected areas.
The ban itself came 24 hours after conflicting guidelines on outdoor exercise, including those which allowed for it.
“The youth and sports minister (Reezal Merican Naina Merican) has indicated that he will bring up several ministry suggestions regarding a more appropriate approach to sports and recreation for review at the National Security Council (NSC) meeting this evening,” the ministry said on Facebook today.
Prior to the ban announced last night, the NSC had put out conflicting standard operating procedures (SOPs) on such activities, leading to confusion.
For example, the SOP for MCO 3.0 in Selangor said sports activities that do not involve physical touch and indoor training facilities were allowed.
Meanwhile, the general MCO 3.0 SOP document merely said any sporting and recreational activities were subjected to the Youth and Sports Ministry’s SOP.
However, it was updated last night to reflect the blanket ban on all sports and recreational activities as well as training facilities such as gyms.
The move was panned by infectious diseases experts, who pointed out that the risk for Covid-19 infection from outdoor exercise was low.
However, Reezal’s deputy - Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal - had defended the ban, saying the Health Ministry and NSC would have made their decision based on science.
Lembah Pantai MP Fahmi Fadzil poked fun at the situation, tweeting that "U-turn" sports were still allowed under the MCO 3.0.
Wan Fayhsal, however, replied that the Youth and Sports Ministry's move to appeal the exercise ban showed that the government was in tune with the people's grouses.
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