Be inclusive when imposing safety protocol

BEFORE the outbreak of Covid-19, shopping centres around the world were short getaways or quick hangout places for people who wanted to be out and about.

When the pandemic began last year, mall managers were literally caught off guard, and retailers who used to operate their businesses within the comfort zones of these premises were compelled to shut down for months amid periods of huge uncertainty.

Due to the newness of the coronavirus that causes Covid-19, scientists and medical experts had to scramble to understand its origin, genome behaviour and genetic variations and come up with an effective solution to control it.

The whole process took time and for most retailers, the longer the waiting period, the larger the financial impact on them.

Ultimately, vaccination was deemed to be the best way out of this pandemic.

The immunisation programme in Malaysia started in March this year and over two-thirds of our adult population have been fully vaccinated as of Sept 5.

Those who are fully vaccinated have been given more freedom to move about in public as long as they continue to observe standard operating procedures such as wearing face masks and maintaining physical distancing.

However, the easing of restrictions on fully vaccinated persons has led to some negative impacts.

Recently, some mall operators announced that only fully vaccinated persons would be allowed entry into their premises.

This can be seen as banning those who are not vaccinated, a move that is short-sighted and blatantly discriminates against unvaccinated shoppers who might have legitimate reasons for not being vaccinated, and also violates the rights of retailers to gain more customers.

It is also fuelling the perception that being fully vaccinated is enough to keep Covid-19 away. The sad truth is those who have received their full doses can still be infected and transmit the virus as well. This is especially so for the more virulent Delta variant.

On Sept 4, 19,057 Covid-19 cases were reported in Malaysia. Interestingly, 4,939 cases or 23.1% were individuals who had received one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine or had not passed the required number of days from their second shot.

Meanwhile, 6,120 or 32.1% of the positive cases were fully vaccinated.

Managing the economy in the midst of a pandemic is a balancing act between ensuring the safety of the people and protecting their livelihood.

On hindsight, had the standard operating procedures been strictly implemented in the early stages of the outbreak, shopping centres probably would not have been forced to close for such long periods.

In business, best practices involve the implementation of initiatives that are proven to be effective in achieving greater end results. In this case, adhering to the SOPs is the way forward.

Mall managements should work hand in hand with the relevant agencies and also get more auxiliary police and Rela officers to perform close surveillance on adherence to the SOPs.

Better still, qualified SOP marshals ought to be hired on a permanent basis and stationed in malls to carry out these responsibilities.

Mall managements have to lead by example and provide out-of-the-box solutions to cater to both vaccinated and unvaccinated shoppers.

It goes without saying that mall operators must consistently play their part to actively educate the public about the importance of adhering to SOPs.

AISYAH

Kuala Lumpur