Shorter shopping hours won’t help, says doctor
PETALING JAYA: Two doctors have given the thumbs down to the shorter shopping time allowed for customers at retail shops and malls.
Former deputy health minister Dr Lee Boon Chye said greater public education was better than imposing illogical restrictions if the goal was to discourage people from going out.
Lee said the two-hour limit for customers was difficult to enforce when there was a requirement for “checking in” but none for “checking out”.
“The SOPs must be clear and consistent. For big shopping malls, there will be difficulty in distinguishing between employers or employees working in the mall and customers,” he said.
Lee said the new business hours of 8am to 8pm would force customers to do their shopping within 5-8 pm after work and cause more congestion.
Dr Steven Chow, president of the Federation of Private Medical Practitioners’ Association Malaysia said the two-hour shopping limit would not cut down transmission of the Covid-19 virus.
“Only a self-imposed movement control order and sensible precautions would help curb the virus,” he said.
“Malaysia is dealing with really big numbers, 6,000 to 7,000 confirmed new cases per day, which is equal to tens of thousands of new infections daily.
“Conventionally, for every confirmed case there are at least three to 10 undetected active cases in the community,” he told FMT.
Chow added that only a thorough and dependable contact tracing process could break the chain of transmission.
“All this micro-managing of human behaviour is not cost-effective at this moment,” he said.
The new limit on shopping hours was announced by the government this week. Customers would only be allowed to spend up to two hours at retail premises, while businesses would only be allowed to operate from 8am to 8pm.
This includes restaurants, kiosks, hawker stalls, convenience stores, laundrettes, optometrists, car wash centres and hair salons. - FMT
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