THE Penang government has released a set of guidelines to reopen arts and cultural spaces, emphasising social distancing and other public health requirements mandated by federal and state governments.

In a statement today, Penang Tourism, Arts, Culture and Heritage Committee chairman Yeoh Soon Hin said the public health safety operations guidelines for arts and culture spaces comprise key considerations to help arts and culture organisations make decisions on operations and programming during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The arts and culture sector is among the most affected by the Covid-19 crisis, with many public events and activities cancelled or postponed due to the movement control order (MCO).

“Penang is the first state in Malaysia to come out with these guidelines,” he said in George Town today, adding that these guidelines were not intended to be exhaustive or comprehensive in scope and not every consideration will apply to every organisation.

“We encourage arts and culture organisations and practitioners to use these guidelines as a foundation for their plans and adapt to their specific needs in implementing mandatory public health guidelines,” he said. – Bernama, May 25, 2020.