Hair salons are still not allowed to open although many economic sectors have begun operating under the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO), said Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
He said there were Covid-19 cases reported from hair salons in the United States and Japan, so the government has not opened this sector.
“We will monitor the situation and updates on Covid-19 cases for two weeks before the government decides to allow this sector to operate.
“If the number in the country reduces, perhaps the government will consider allowing this sector to open gradually,” he told a press conference at the ministry today.
Last month, Putrajaya had allowed hair salons and barbershops to reopen, but received criticism from across the political divide as well as the general public on the grounds that it would be difficult for these services to comply with strict social distancing procedures due to the nature of their profession.
On standard operating procedures (SOPs) on the economic sectors after the MCO is lifted, he said the ministry has yet to plan an exit strategy like many other countries and was following the six criteria from the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Dr Noor Hisham said the country is yet to start on an exit strategy as two new clusters were identified, and the ministry is now focused on them.
“We hope the situation can be controlled in a week and if cases reduce, we will advise the Prime Minister on the next course of action.
“The reason why these new clusters exist, especially the one involving security guards at a mall in Cheras, is because of the high number of workers who stay in one apartment. We found that 15 of them stay in one unit.
“We have acted on the matter and the employers have been advised to adhere to the SOPs set by us to control the disease from spreading,” he said.
Dr Noor Hisham said 10 cases – nine Nepalis and a Malaysian – have been reported in the cluster.
“The cause of infections in this cluster is still under investigation.
“We have taken precautionary and preventive measures and identified and screened all the workers who came into close contact with those infected.
“All the Nepalis in this cluster live in the same house in Cheras,” he added.