KUALA LUMPUR, April 13 — The government has retracted approval for barbers, beauty salons, and opticians to reopen nationwide during the third phase of the Movement Control Order (MCO).
Senior Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob also said Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has decided to prohibit Ramadan bazaars from operating during the MCO that has been extended to April 28.
“As I’ve said before, we have heard views from the Ministry of Health (MOH) and we have heard views from the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), therefore we have decided that students from public and private universities are to remain on campus,” Ismail Sabri told a press conference today.
“God willing, their welfare, their food and drink, will continue to be borne by the government.”
Ismail Sabri said police feared an inability to monitor mass movements from students returning to their hometowns that could result in new Covid-19 clusters.
The Malaysian Hairdressing Association said last Saturday that 91 per cent of hairdressers in its survey disagreed that hair salons should resume business during the nationwide partial lockdown, pointing out that it was impossible to maintain a distance of one metre during haircutting.
Higher Education Minister Noraini Ahmad tweeted previously that the ministry was looking at the best way to send students still remaining on campus back home during the third phase of the MCO.
Former Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman also urged the government to send students home in stages throughout the country after medical screening.
Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, in a press conference Saturday, however urged patience from the Higher Education Ministry, asking for more time to look at the latest Covid-19 data during the third phase of the MCO starting from April 15.
