KUCHING: It will be a relatively quiet Chinese New Year (CNY) celebration this year, the first ever in recorded history of the festive occasion celebrated in the state.
The familiar sound of the roar of the lion, traditionally performed to usher in the Lunar New Year to bring in good fortune, will be muted this time around – no thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The lion dance performance, which is normally accompanied by the sound of firecrackers and drums, is among the list of activities prohibited to be held under the standard operating procedure (SOP) in ushering this year’s CNY as underlined by the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC).
The Lunar New Year will be celebrated on Feb 12 and 13.
Other prohibited activities are:
- Open house
- House visiting
- Family reunion dinner in hotels or restaurants and CNY celebration at temple or public places.
Under the SOP, only close family members of not more than 20 persons are allowed to hold CNY eve dinner. The SOP is imposed to help curb the spread of Covid-19 during the festive occasion.
The CNY celebration is allowed on the first day only with not more than 20 family members and it is mandatory for the house owner to provide either thermal scanner or temperature checker device.
SDMC also made it mandatory for all visiting family members to register and download the MySejahtera /Covidtrace/Qmunity applications for contact tracing purpose.
Manual registration should include information such as date, time, name, and mobile number.
Family members who have a body temperature above 37.5ºc or show any symptoms should be denied entry into the house and be advised to the go to nearest hospital or health clinic.
The house owner is also required to provide seat arrangement with not less than one metre distance apart and practices that involve contact such as shaking hands are not allowed.
Meanwhile, in a separate development, the management of Nanyang Wushu Federation of Sarawak said its dragon, lion dance and drum troupes will not be doing any performances this CNY.
Its instructor-in-chief Prof Datuk Seri Dr Song Swee Hee said this is a precautionary measure to curb the spread of Covid-19.
“It is painful to miss this traditional CNY custom but preventing the spread of Covid-19 will enable us to visit you all in the coming years,” he said.
He added that the federation has been celebrating CNY since its establishment in 1974.
“On behalf of the federation, we apologise for any inconvenience caused and wish all patrons, supporters and members of the public a happy and prosperous CNY.
“We look forward to your continuing support in the near future,” he said.
