by BERNAMA/ pic by BERNAMA

A HYPERMARKET in Section 13 here is the first business premises in Selangor that has been ordered to close for eight days after it was found to be non-compliant with the standard operating procedure (SOP) during the conditional movement control order (CMCO) to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the state.

Selangor Health Department (JKNS) director Datuk Dr Sha’ari Ngadiman said the order for the closure, from yesterday until June 8, was issued by the department as the result of its monitoring.

“The eight days given to the owner of the hypermarket is seen as reasonable for them to ensure the hypermarket’s operations adhere to the SOP set by the government.

“In the face of the COVID-19 outbreak, they should be more sensitive and concerned about their customers’ safety and wellbeing,” he told Bernama today.

Dr Sha’ari added that this closure should serve as a lesson to other business operators to be aware of the current development of the pandemic in the effort to break the chain of COVID-19 infection in the state.

Asked whether the errant hypermarket owner would be compounded for failing to follow the SOP, Dr Sha’ari said they are conducting further investigation.

He also advised other business operators to make optimal use of the SELangkah mobile application introduced by the Selangor state government as an effort to conduct contact tracing in case of the virus outbreak at their respective premises.

Among the SOP issued by the government for business operators during the CMCO period are observing social distancing, limiting numbers of customers in the premises and recording visitors’ body temperature.

A picture on the closure notice of the hypermarket according to Subsection 18(1) (f) of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988, had earlier went viral, raising questions among the netizens living nearby the premises.