By Olivia Miwil - January 20, 2021 @ 4:35pm
KOTA KINABALU: The government should allow hair salons to operate for the survival of their businesses.
Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) vice president, Gee Tien Siong said the two-week long Movement Control Order (MCO) until Jan 26 is affecting thousands of hair salon operators in the state.
"During the first MCO in March last year, hairdressers were not allowed to operate under regulations set by the government until June 2020.
"By June last year, the Recovery MCO relaxed the rules and this allowed hairdressing salons to open under strict standard operating procedures (SOP). However, this did not last long as they were eventually ordered to close once more under MCO 2.0," he said in a statement.
Gee said due to these circumstances, some hairdressers resorted to conducting haircut businesses secretly at home to sustain their livelihoods.
He said such activities would make tracing the source of Covid-19 infection even more difficult.
At the salons, both hairstylists and clients are obliged to follow the SOP by wearing masks, disposable protective suits and services are provided based on appointments.
"I am hoping the authorities will relax the rules and allow barbershops and hairdressing salons to restart their businesses prior to the upcoming Chinese New Year to avoid crowds rushing for new year haircuts."
Following the implementation of the MCO in Sabah since Jan 13, there is no sign yet of a decline in the number of daily Covid-19 cases.
On average, the state has been recording about 400 cases each day, with more than half of them involving close contacts of infected persons.
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