KUANTAN, 29 March 2020:
Eateries in Jerantut, Pekan and Raub will no longer be allowed to cater for take away orders beginning Tuesday.
Pahang state secretary Datuk Seri Dr Sallehuddin Ishak in a statement today said the directive also applied to fast food outlets in the three districts.
The order would take effect until the end of the Movement Control Order (MCO) period, which was initially scheduled for March 18 to 31 and since extended to April 14.
“The directive is issued as Jerantut and Pekan recorded the highest number of Covid-19 cases in Pahang, while the outbreak situation is worrying in Raub. During this ruling, only delivery service is allowed.”
Sallehuddin said local authorities in the three districts have been instructed to carry out strict enforcement to ensure full compliance with the order.
Meanwhile, leaving the house for up to four times a day to buy food was among the dishonest excuses given by Malaysians to go out under the MCO.
Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the excuse given was clearly insincere and with the intention to cheat.
‘’Some gave the excuse to buy food, but up to four times a day, to the point the police recognise their faces, clearly it was not a genuine excuse,’’ he told a media conference after chairing a special ministerial committee meeting on the MCO here today.
He said some of them who were checked were still hanging out at stalls and, worse still, flouted the MCO.
The MCO, aimed at curbing the spread of Covid-19, entered its 11th day yesterday and saw the arrests of 649 individuals, or double that of the previous day.
The number of individuals who defied the MCO is still high with 649 people arrested until yesterday, said Ismail Sabri. Of the total, he said, 73 of them had been charged in court and pleaded guilty to the offence.
“The police have been given permission to take stern action, including issuing compound and taking to court those who defy the order.”
He said 997 road blocks were mounted yesterday, with 310,938 vehicles inspected, from more than 200,000 vehicles the previous day.
It showed that people are still moving around as there are still many vehicles on the road, he added.
In the meantime, he said there were still business premises which were not included in the essential services category being opened during the MCO.
He said only premises which were related to food supply and health were allowed to be opened during the implementation of MCO. ‘’A total 3,223 premises were inspected and some (not essential services) were ordered closed.”
He said a tighter standard operating procedure (SOP) is expected to be announced tomorrow.
– Bernama