Companies allowed to operate during MCO must comply with SOP

Signature. ā€” DayakDaily.com file pic. // Photo: Pixabay

KUCHING, April 16: Companies in authorised sectors must comply with the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) stipulated for their respective sector, said Senior Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali.

Azmin in a press conference today said the permission to operate is also subject to compliance with the requirements set by the Ministry of Health (MoH) and also guidelines by other enforcement agencies.

ā€œThe compliance is in line with the agreement by the companies when they made the decision to continue their operations throughout the Movement Control Order (MCO) period,ā€ he said.

He revealed that companies which have been authorised need not reapply because their companies have been gazetted,

According to him, this means all industries and companies which have already been approved for operation can continue to do so during the third phase of the MCO.

ā€œHowever, for the additional economic sectors, the gazette only started yesterday, and the process is currently ongoing,ā€ he added.

Meanwhile, Azmin who is also in charge of the International Trade and Industry Ministry (MITI), said that MITI has also received the guidelines on healthcare and enhanced MCO from MoH to be distributed to the companies that are allowed to operate.

He emphasised that it is required by MITI for those companies to draw up a name list of their workers, to ensure that their movements are only limited to travelling between their home and workplace during the MCO period.

ā€œCompanies also must provide a body temperature scanner or thermal scanner, and screening test for any symptoms such as cough, sore throat or shortness of breath. Records of the workers must be kept for a minimum of three months for reference,ā€ he said.

ā€œFor those employers applying to operate, they must also ensure that their workers undergo a Covid-19 screening test at (one of the) more than 3,000 panel clinics under Perkeso (Social Security Organisation) throughout the country in accordance with the guidelines set by MoH,ā€ he added.

He gave assurance that MITI will work together with the Ministry of Human Resources through Perkeso to ensure the workers’ safety. ā€” DayakDaily