GEORGE TOWN: Another 22 economic sectors will be allowed to operate in Penang, which has eased into Phase 2 of the National Recovery Plan (NRP), with immediate effect.
This follows the latest standard operating procedure (SOP) issued by the National Security Council (NSC), where half of the adult population in a state need not be fully vaccinated.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the NSC issued the latest SOP yesterday to allow the sectors which were announced by caretaker Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to operate.
"This means all the 22 economic sectors will be allowed to operate in Penang as of today.
"We need not wait for half of our adult population to be fully vaccinated first. However, 38 per cent of our adult population have been fully vaccinated," he said when met at the Retail Industry Vaccination Programme (RIVac) at the Gurney Paragon Mall here today.
The 11 sectors allowed to operate in Phase 1 states include car wash; electric & electrical shops; household & kitchen appliances shops; furniture shops; sports equipments shops; car accessories shops; automotive & car sales shops; morning markets & wholesale markets; clothing, fashion & accessories; jewellery stores and hair salons.
The additional 11 sectors allowed to operate in Phase 2 states were photo and photo services; used goods; florists and nurseries; crafts and souvenirs; antiques; toys; carpet; creative content and creative industry accessories; outdoor gadgets; cosmetic, skincare and perfume and tobacco including vape and e-cigarettes.
Only fully vaccinated individuals would be able to enjoy these relaxations.
Both the Penang Island City Council and Seberang Prai City Council are expected to make an announcement on the matter soon.
Elaborating, Chow said Penang is expected to have 40 per cent of its adult population fully vaccinated in a day or two and 50 per cent by month end.
To date, about 71 per cent of the adult population who registered via the MySejahtera app have received their first dose.
"We are on track where 100 per cent of our adult population would receive at least the first dose of vaccination early next month.
"Although there is no need to ensure half of our adult population is fully vaccinated to enjoy the 22 sectors, we still need to achieve it in our bid to hit herd immunity to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, checks by the New Straits Times at several major shopping complexes today showed economic sectors which were allowed to operate have yet to resume businesses.
On the RIVac, Chow said besides the Gurney Paragon Mall, the Design Village Mall in Batu Kawan would also serve as RIVac from tomorrow.
The latter would cater to 6,700 individuals while the former to some 4,000 individuals, both over a course of five days.