Several restaurants choose not to open for dine-in
Several restaurants in areas under Phase 1 of the National Recovery Plan (NRP) are choosing not to allow dining in, in spite of the recently announced relaxed standard operating procedures (SOPs) for those who have been fully vaccinated.
One such restaurant, myBurgerLab, cited fears of a government U-turn as one of the reasons it would not be opening for dine-in, adding that with the change of government, there might also be a fresh change of SOPs in the coming days.
“(This is) because it has happened before...
Several restaurants in areas under Phase 1 of the National Recovery Plan (NRP) are choosing not to allow dining in, in spite of the recently announced relaxed standard operating procedures (SOPs) for those who have been fully vaccinated.
One such restaurant, myBurgerLab, cited fears of a government U-turn as one of the reasons it would not be opening for dine-in, adding that with the change of government, there might also be a fresh change of SOPs in the coming days.
“(This is) because it has happened before. We prefer to be more cautious this time around,” myBurgerLab said in a statement yesterday.
Another reason it cited for its decision to not allow dine-in services is that the SOPs issued thus far lacked clarity.
“We are advised to have ample space between seats. So, is it one metre or two metres? Will we kena saman (be fined) if the enforcers come to check? Do the staff need to have received a single dose (of the Covid-19 vaccine) or a double dose? What if they are under 18 and have not received their shots yet?” the burger chain asked.
Food outlets elsewhere in the Klang Valley are also following suit.
Petaling Jaya-based Otherwise Cafe stressed its concerns over the safety of its patrons with the relaxation of the dine-in SOPs.
“To be honest… we need sales and customers so badly nowadays, in order to keep our business alive. But hey, we’d even like all of us to stay alive, and so together we’ll get to see each other once again for a good and safe cuppa,” the cafe said in a statement on Facebook yesterday.
Cake business Delectable by Su said on its Facebook yesterday: “Clearly, one day of notice isn’t quite enough for businesses to digest the situation and throw their employees back in the sea of humans, lah.
“We’ve been careful to have a safe environment for everyone working in our space and we’re going to keep doing what we’re doing... so no dine-in, no walk-ins remain at the Delectable HQ Seputeh.”
Major fast-food chain McDonald's also said it would not open its outlets for dine-in for Phase 1 regions.
It added that thus far, only selected restaurants in Phase 2 and 3 regions, namely Perlis, Sabah, Sarawak, and Labuan, have met the company's own criteria for dine-in.
Yesterday, caretaker prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced that vaccinated individuals who live in states under Phase 1 of the NRP are now able to dine in.
Those wishing to dine in must show their MySejahtera digital vaccine certificate.
Regions in Phase 1 of the NRP are Kedah, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Negeri Sembilan, Malacca, Johor and Putrajaya.
In justifying the relaxation of SOPs, Muhyiddin claimed that the rising vaccination rate is ensuring less severe Covid-19 infections.
However, Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the relaxation was ultimately an economic, rather than a health consideration.
Noor Hisham cautioned the people that it was not safe yet and that they should remain at home, even if they are allowed to go to more places.
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