KUALA LUMPUR – In an announcement yesterday, the National Security Council (NSC) task force has agreed to allow indoor commercial sports and recreational facilities to operate with monitoring for states under Phase 1 of the National Recovery Plan (NRP) but not for gymnasiums.
Although sports and recreational facilities will be able to resume operations on Friday in a limited capacity for fully vaccinated customers on an appointment basis under strict compliance of SOPs, gyms have been left out of the equation.
Despite these establishments not being allowed to reopen in accordance with risk assessments conducted by the health ministry and NSC, National Sports and Fitness Venue Owners and Operators Association (NSFVOOA) president, Datuk V. Radhakrishnan, is optimistic that their recent submission of detailed recommendations of SOP guidelines and strict compliance measures to the Youth and Sports ministry will help accelerate the approval process.
“We are getting very close as we have met all the requirements with detailed recommendations of SOP guidelines and measures.
“The ministry is very happy (with our report) seeing that we provided thorough information to help them with the submission of a preliminary proposal to the NSC,” said Radhakrishnan.
He added that they made sure the recommendations provided adhered to the Occupational Safety and Health department (DOSH) as well.
Meanwhile, the ministry announced that they will be jointly developing ventilation guidelines with the NSC to ensure that gyms can be reopened soon.
“I strongly believe that if sports and recreational facilities are allowed to operate, we can look forward to the reopening of gymnasiums in the near future,” − The Vibes, September 9, 2021.
