By Professor Dr Moy Foong Ming

With the announcement from our Prime Minister on the reopening of almost all economic sectors, most of us have mixed feelings. We empathize with the group of individuals or corporate institutions that lost their earnings or suffer losses during the movement control order period. The corporate institutions not only lost their earnings, but they need to pay the salaries of their employees.

We observed the most hard-hit industry, hotels have been closing one after another and this made hundreds of people lost their jobs. The loss of revenue for the people, corporate whether large, small or medium industries as well as the country, has prompted the government to reopen the economic sectors.

On the other hand, we also feel that health of the population maybe more important than financial losses. This is a never-ending debate and steps needs to be taken to ensure we don't repeat the mistakes of other countries that experienced the resurgent of COVID 19 cases after control measures were relaxed.

In the individual level, social or physical distancing is one of the preventive measures that have been emphasized repeatedly. However, after more than 6 weeks of MCO, the public is still not ready in maintaining physical distancing. We still observed people do not keep one meter apart from each other in the shops or marketplace. The day after PM's announcement, we also noticed more people were out in the market or shops, more cars on the roads and there seemed to be a false sense of security that COVID-19 is over with the reopening of economic sectors.

In the corporate level, although there are SOPs available, do the management have adequate time to understand and implement the procedures in such short notice? Are the employees ready to go back to work? Have they made arrangement to have their children taken care when schools maintain closed? Are childcare centers and nurseries ready to open with all implemented SOPs?

There should be reopening of sectors in stages, with adequate training and monitoring on all parties, before the employees can go back to work. Although our DG of Health has warned that if the premises are not following SOPs, they will be instructed to close. But do we have the manpower to monitor if the eateries, shops, workplaces following SOPs when all are opening at the same time?

I would like to suggest that the relevant authorities should check all eateries, shops and workplaces are following SOPs before giving approval for them resume business in full force. The MCO should be maintained with those involved to implement all SOPs in their premises, have the authorities to check before getting approval to start business in full. The public should be educated and reminded of physical distancing with the help of volunteers from NGOs. They should also be informed that the war against COVID-19 is still not over, although economic sectors are opened. They need to embrace social or physical distancing as the new norm in their lifestyle. The reopening of all economic sectors simultaneously should be delayed. We do not wish to have a second wave of COVID-19 and undergo an extension of MCO.

(Professor Dr Moy Foong Ming is Professor in Epidemiology) Department of Social & Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya.)