THE government’s decision to allow dining for vaccinated people in states subject to phase 2 of the national recovery plan does come with risks, food and beverage associations say.

They said although dining will help stimulate their business, given the worsening pandemic, and the Delta variant, even vaccinated people are susceptible to the virus.

The operators are also worried about their staff contracting Covid-19.

Wong Teu Hoo, president of the Malaysia Singapore Coffee Shop Proprietors General Association said even with the relaxation of rules, people are still afraid as the number of daily infections is still high.

“If there is a positive case on the premises, we have to close the shop for sanitisation and testing, which is troublesome,” Wong told The Malaysian Insight.

Wong said the best time to allow for dining is when Malaysia has reached herd immunity.

“Even if we open now, customers will hesitate to dine and will continue with takeaways to reduce the risk of infection.”

However, he contended that not all food outlets can survive on takeaways as they depend on dining for business.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced that dining, inter-district travel, tourism within the state and solo participation sports will be allowed for vaccinated people in states subject to phases 2 and 3 of the national recovery plan.

Currently Penang, Perak, Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Sabah are in phase 2. Perlis, Sarawak and Labuan have transitioned to phase 3. The rest of the country is still in phase 1.

Wong said operators are also worried that they will not be able to fully comply with the standard operating procedure (SOP), which requires them to check customers’ Covid-19 digital certificates.

“Not all customers will be willing to co-operate.”

According to the SOP, other than checking the digital certificates, food and beverage operators must post a notice in the shop front that only vaccinated people are allowed to dine and all their employees must be vaccinated as well.

Tables must also maintain social distancing rules and the premises must operate at 50% capacity.

People who have received the Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca and Sinovac vaccines are considered to be immunised against the coronavirus 14 days after the second dose.

Similarly, recipients of single-dose vaccines, such as CanSino and Johnson and Johnson, are considered immunised 28 days after vaccination.

Lee Kok Yong, chairman of the Perai Coffee, Tea and Catering Merchants Association said, while Penang can open for dining, owners have decided against it due to the risk of infection.

“They are worried about maintaining SOP due to the lunch hour crowd. With the number of confirmed cases so high, they also do not want to take the risk,” he said.

Of the 500 coffeeshops in the association, Lee said about 40% have decided against allowing customers to dine.

“Though it will attract customers and encourage more business, I don’t think it should be allowed at this stage, it’s not the right time. The virus is spreading too fast and that’s scary.”

Meanwhile, Helen Yap, president of the Raub, Lipis and Jerantut coffee Merchants Association said in Pahang, around 300 to 500 small and large coffee shops are ready to open for dining.

She said the ban on doing so for the past three months has greatly affected their business.

“It has been difficult because some have completely lost their source of income. When dining is allowed, I hope everyone will follow the SOP.”

Yap added that most of the coffee shop owners are elderly and are not aware of the SOPs set by the government.

“There have been many owners who have been fined for violating SOPs. Mostly it is because they do not comply with disinfection procedures.”

She suggests that business owners sanitise their premises at least three times a week when dining resumes.

“If you choose to open on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, the rest of the days should be used to disinfect the premises. If they are open seven days a week, there will be no time for it.”

Yap said some of the owners have agreed to her proposal but others are not as keen as it will affect their income.

“At the moment, the most important thing is to stay healthy. It doesn’t matter if you lose a little profit as long as business can resume.” – August 11, 2021.