By Adrian Lim
KUCHING, June 7: The federal government will ease restrictions on certain sports and recreational activities during the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) period from June 10 to August 31.
Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said sports activities which do not involve close contact with others will be allowed to resume from June 10.
“In the sports category, a few sports and recreational activities will be allowed to be conducted with standard operating procedures (SOPs).
“These include sports training like team activities that do not involve physical touch such as bowling, badminton, archery, paintball and so on.
“Group activities like cycling and motorcycle convoys are permitted.
“Sports competitions or games which are held in a stadium or swimming pool that involve gatherings of fans and spectators are prohibited, for instance rugby, boxing, football, basketball and hockey,” he said in Putrajaya today during a special address broadcasted by Radio Television Malaysia (RTM).
The RMCO comes after the Movement Control Order (MCO) and the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) period implemented to curb the spread of Covid-19, and aims to move the country closer to normalcy after close to three months of restricted movement measures.
Muhyiddin emphasised that during RMCO, more social, educational, religious and economic activities will be able to resume in stages with adherence to strict SOPs.
He revealed that open markets, farmers markets, night markets, hawkers centres, and food trucks will all be allowed to resume operations in the near future.
For religious activities, he said the Hari Raya Aidiladha celebration which falls at the end of July will be permitted with the adherence to SOP.
For the reopening of other houses of worship, the prime minister explained that the federal government is in the midst of refining the SOP and details will be announced in the near future.
Meanwhile, Muhyiddin disclosed that certain activities are still forbidden.
These includes activities at pubs, night clubs, entertainment centres, reflexology centres, karaoke, and theme parks, religious processions, and open house which involve large gatherings.
Muhyiddin said the country is currently in the recovery phase of Covid-19 and expressed belief Malaysia will enter the normalisation phase after the RMCO period.
The prime minister reminded the public to abide by SOPs and practise good personal hygiene until the Covid-19 vaccine is discovered. — DayakDaily
