MCO 2.0: Full List Of SOP Released For Chinese New Year 2021

Eunis Ong

Last updated 9 Feb 2021

CNY SOP And MCO 2.0 Extension Announced

With the number of COVID cases still in the thousands and nearly the whole nation placed under an extended Movement Control Order (MCO) now scheduled to end only on 18 Feb, Malaysians are expecting a rather quiet and toned down Chinese New Year this year.

Due to the fear of creating new community clusters, strict SOPs have been drawn up and announced by Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob. These SOPs may sound familiar as we have gone through something similar during the Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations in 2020.

[Update, 7 Feb] Some revisions have been made to the CNY SOP list following uproar and widespread backlash within the Chinese community over the past few days. The initial rule of celebrations only allowed with family members who live in the same household has been revised, and reunion dinners can now accommodate up to 15 family members who stay within a 10km radius. According to some news sources, a new announcement with further revisions is expected in the new few days.

Full SOP List That Has Been Announced

[Update] Reunion dinners are now permitted for up to 15 family members who stay within a 10km radius (without interstate or inter-district travel).
[Update] Prayer activities at places of worship will be allowed for a maximum of 30 devotees per session on 11, 12, and 19 February (between 6AM - 2PM only). Devotees will have to adhere to SOPs (mandatory face masks, social distancing) and can only spend a maximum of 30 minutes at the temple/place of worship. Sanitization works have to be done at every interval.
[Update] Home prayers at night by the Hokkiens for the Festival of the Heavenly God or Jade Emperor (拜天公) on 19 Feb can be done within the vicinity of your homes.
House visits and big gatherings are not allowed.
Interstate travel remains banned.
There will be no lion dance, performances, festive parades, or lantern festivals.
[Update] Dine-in is now allowed at restaurants and F&B outlets, with a maximum of 2 people per table and social distancing of at least 1 metre.
Three new business activities - hair saloons, car wash services, and pasar malam are now allowed to operate with strict SOPs from 5 Feb onwards.

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CNY SOP Released For Celebrations In Sarawak

In the meantime, CNY SOPs have already been released by the State Disaster Management Committee (JPBN) of Sarawak, with detailed guidelines released on the official website of the Ministry of Local Government and Housing Sarawak. Chinese New Year celebrations in Sarawak will only be allowed on the first day of the festive season (12 Feb) with a maximum of 20 attendees at a time (limited to immediate family members only). Household owners will also be required to prepare thermometers/thermal scanners and have a QR code put in place for MySejahtera check-ins (or they are to take down details manually).

Lion and dragon dance, open houses, gatherings in restaurants, bazaars, prayers in temples, as well as practices that involve close contact such as shaking hands are also not allowed during CNY. Movement between places are allowed except between zones placed under the MCO and CMCO.

[Update] The Senior Minister mentioned that the Sarawak State Government will make a new announcement on the Sarawak SOP soon. The above SOP may be subject to change.

CNY SOPs Also Released In Singapore

The Singapore government has also released their own version of strict and detailed SOPs for the Chinese New Year. This includes wearing masks on during the tossing of yee sang (and without raising voices or reciting Lohei wishes while doing so!), limiting visits to at most two other households in a day (as far as possible), gatherings in groups of only up to eight, and more.

Enforcement checks by authorities will be carried out during the festive seasons, and strict action will be taken against individuals and business operators who are caught breaching the SOP.

Let Us Cow-Tim Your CNY Celebrations At Home

Come rain or shine, the festivities have to go on albeit being much toned down this year. Book your takeaway or delivery yee sang, festive dishes, dinner sets, gifts, hot pot, and more on Klook for your celebrations at home! Check out our full list of festive deals here.