KUCHING: Food and beverage outlets and other non-essential services in the city have felt the effects of the government’s two-week movement control order to curb the spread of the Covid-19 virus.
However, they understand that this is for the safety of everyone as health and safety come first, business is secondary.
Checks by New Sarawak Tribune yesterday at some of the food and drinks outlets during lunch hour showed that it was rather quiet as most stalls only allowed takeaways and strictly no dining in.
When met, Japangi Cafe owner Jacqueline Tiong said for the safety of its staff and customers, they did not allow dine-ins since Monday.
“Our delivery service and counter takeaway service will remain operational,” she said.
She said when customers visited shops for takeaways; there was no need for them to wait in the shops as the staff would deliver the food directly to their cars as well.
She also said that staff of food delivery operators would have their body temperature scanned and name taken as a precautionary measure.
“At this point of time, we feel that our business is affected, but I hope everything gets better and everyone can resume their business as usual.
“We are in this together, we can do it,” she said.
Meanwhile, an 18-year-old employee of a Chinese restaurant in Saradise Kuching, who only wished to be known as Ten, said the restaurant she was working in also only allowed takeaways.
“Working in this line is very challenging, because we deal with customers every day. I do feel scared,” she said.
She said she tried her best at keeping strict hygiene by wearing a face mask, washing her hands often and using hand sanitiser after clearing the tables.
A customer at the restaurant, who works at a private utilities office who did not wish to be named, said the restaurant would be packed with people on normal days.
“It is sad that Sarawak is also affected, we hope the situation will improve because we need to work without living in fear,” she said.
Precinct Delight manager Daphne Rodgers said it was sad to see that those in the food business greatly affected by the pandemic and the two-week movement control order.
“It affects us because there will be no business for us for two weeks and the ones who suffer are our staff,” she said.
She said the cafe was looking forward to launching a new western food menu sometime this week, however it would have to be postponed to a later date or once the situations improve.
“Alternatively we are trying to see whether we can open just for takeaways and offer food delivery,” she said, adding that customers are encouraged to look out on their Facebook page for further updates.
When met, a food delivery rider of a fast food chain said he has busy delivering orders since the first day of the movement control order.
“My colleague, who did the morning shift that day had already sent over 10 orders in the morning. Now that I take up the evening shift, there are already several orders to be sent,” he said.
Those in non-food essential services also felt this was a tough time.
Albert Eanon, chief executive officer of a local company, however viewed that those involved in any construction project should not be closed or temporarily stopped as it would slow down the construction of roads or buildings.
“Our office will be closed for two weeks which will affect about 40 staff – from the workers up to the management,” he said.
He said whatever it was, he believed and was confidence that the new government would be able to bring light during this darkness, including stabilising the economy.
Homedeco Gallery Sdn Bhd managing director Carlin Bong said there were many home installations such as kitchenware and water filters planned for this week, but had to be on hold first.
“We told our customers that we cannot complete the project by soonest, because we decided to close,” he said, adding that unless there was an urgent need for completion then a special arrangement would be made.
Bongs said in business, there were ups and downs and definitely would make a loss after the Covid-19 outbreak.
“Business is one thing, but most importantly we need to do our social responsibility to prevent further spread or else things get more critical,” he said.
He hoped Malaysians would understand this and not worry about the losses incurred, but put safety and health first.
