Covid-19: Recovery Movement Control Order (Relaxation of Restrictions) *Update No.2*

We had previously issued an Alert on the relaxations announced by the Government to the prohibitions and restrictions under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (Measures within Infected Local Areas) (No. 7) Regulations 2020 (‘RMCO Regulations’) for the period 10 June 2020 to 31 August 2020 (‘RMCO Period’). Our earlier Alert is available here.
 
The Government has subsequently announced further relaxations to the prohibitions and restrictions under the RMCO Regulations. We summarise below the salient points of these relaxations –
 
Reopening of pre-schools and kindergartens
 
All pre-schools and kindergartens nationwide are allowed to reopen from 1 July 2020.1 The relevant standard operating procedures (‘SOPs’) are being finalised by the Ministry of Education and will be announced soon.
 
Further relaxation for non-Muslim places of worship2
 
All non-Muslim places of worship nationwide are now allowed to open as they had before the movement control order was imposed but with one-third of their usual capacity and subject to adherence to the relevant SOPs.3 Previously, non-Muslim places of worship are allowed to open one day per week for worship only if they are located within “green zones”.4
 
Senior Minister (Security Cluster), Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, announced that while the Government has generally allowed all non-Muslim places of worship nationwide to open, it is up to the state governments to decide when non-Muslim places of worship located within their respective states are allowed to open.
 
SOPs for meetings, seminar, trainings and courses5
 
Meetings, seminars, trainings and courses are now allowed to be held during the RMCO Period subject to strict adherence to the relevant SOPs. The SOPs for the organisation of functions by the government and private sector that are issued by the National Security Council provide, among others, that the maximum number of attendees is 250 attendees depending on the size of the hall and that social distancing must be observed at all times.
 
Alert prepared by Tan Wei Liang (Associate) of Skrine.
  
 

1 ‘Pre-schools, kindergartens allowed to re-open from July 1, says Ismail Sabri’, The Star Online, 15 June 2020
2 ‘All non-Muslim places of worship can now operate but with one-third of usual capacity, says Ismail Sabri’, The Star Online, 15 June 2020
3 Presently, the SOPs for the social sector on the National Security Council’s website is updated as at 10 June 2020 which is before the Senior Minister’s announcement.
4 According to the Ministry of Health, a ‘green zone’ is an area with no Covid-19 cases.
5 ‘Ismail Sabri: Meetings and seminars now allowed, but no buffets for participants’, The Star Online, 17 June 2020