KUALA LUMPUR: Despite being given the go-ahead by the authorities to open their doors to patrons for dining, many eateries in the Klang Valley are still reluctant to do so.
Checks by the New Straits Times at the commercial hub of Jalan Bukit Bintang, Jalan Tun H.S. Lee, Jalan Ipoh and Jalan Masjid India here found that many restaurants have not even set up tables and chairs in their dining areas, and many were still allowing only takeaways.
Yeok Ah Yeong, the co-owner of the popular Nasi Ayam Hainan Chee Meng, said it was still too risky to allow dining for patrons as the number of new Covid-19 cases was still high.
Yeok said even though business had dropped by at least 40 per cent since the full lockdown was imposed earlier this year, he believed the time was not right to welcome diners.
"We have regular customers, so we are surviving on takeaways.
"My concern is that, if a case is recorded when we allow dining, we might have to close down our restaurant for two weeks.
"My staff would then have to undergo swab tests even though all of them have been vaccinated.
"That would be really expensive. I would rather do takeaways for now until the cases drop," he said when met at his restaurant.
Reto Sandwich restaurant staff Omran Kanaan said they were not ready to welcome diners because some of his colleagues were not fully vaccinated.
"We just started business a year ago, so we want to make sure our customers are confident in our services.
"We will review the situation once we've all completed our second doses. And if the Covid-19 situation improves, we may consider reopening for dining.
"Besides, our customers prefer takeaways for now," he said.
However, Nasi Kandar Arraaziq, while still barring dining, is doing so for a different reason.
The restaurant's partner owner A.M.K. Jamil said they wanted to avoid unnecessary confrontations and arguments with customers keen on dining.
"Let's say two friends come here. One has completed both doses beyond the 14-day mark, while his friend has only received his second dose a few days ago.
"We can explain to them that as per the government's regulations, we cannot let the other person in for dining.
"But we can already see videos going viral on this issue in other restaurants, of customers arguing with restaurant staff on this.
"We are already having a hard time managing our business during the pandemic. Displeasing our customers is the last thing we want to do," he said.
He said they would monitor the situation for a few weeks before making a decision.
Dining is allowed for people who have completed their vaccination in states under Phase 1 and above of the National Recovery Plan (NRP).
A person is fully vaccinated 14 days after receiving the second dose of a two-dose vaccine (Pfizer, AstraZeneca or Sinovac) or 28 days after a single-dose vaccine (Johnson & Johnson and CanSino).