Dine-in allowed as more social, business sectors to reopen nationwide

The National Security Council (NSC) chaired by Muhyiddin Yassin today agreed to allow restaurants to receive dine-in customers after being banned for several months.

As with earlier announcements, only customers who have been fully vaccinated will be allowed to patronise eateries from tomorrow onwards.

Other activities allowed include non-contact sports and recreational activities as well as pasar malam.

Outdoor sports and recreational activities such as jogging, cycling, fishing and golf will be allowed from 6am until 10pm.

In a statement, Muhyiddin warned that any violation of health SOPs would involve firm action including fines and closures.

He also said restaurants should allocate more space for outdoor dining as the risk of Covid-19 spreading is higher in closed settings.

The announcement did not set a limit on the number of diners, but said parents could bring along their unvaccinated children provided that they ensure strict compliance with SOPs.

Camping and picnic activities will also be allowed, with children below the age of 17 allowed to participate subject to strict SOP compliance.

Muhyiddin said the decision had taken into consideration the country’s vaccination rate which saw over 50% of adults fully vaccinated against Covid-19 as of today, earlier than the target date of Aug 31.

He said the NSC meeting also took note of early positive developments from the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme or PICK in Labuan, Sarawak, Negeri Sembilan and the Klang Valley.

“Data collected by the health ministry shows that the states above saw a decrease in number of Category Three to Five cases after the number of fully vaccinated adults aged 18 and above topped 40%,” he said.

He said data from the Crisis Preparedness Response Centre for hospitals also showed that the situation in emergency departments throughout the Klang Valley had been improving.

He said details would be provided by the NSC in the near future.