KUALA LUMPUR — The Malaysian Hairdressing Association said on Saturday (April 11) that 91 per cent of its members did not agree to resume their businesses during the country's movement control order (MCO) period, citing safety concerns, among other issues.

In a statement, the association said it had conducted a survey to gauge its members’ response after Putrajaya relaxed restrictions on several sectors following the extended MCO, including barber shops and hairdressers.

“It is impossible to maintain a distance of one metre during haircutting. Both the customer and the hairdresser are in a state of being easily infected by the virus,” it said in a statement.

“Haircut should not be listed as a necessary essential service, no matter long hair or short hair, the most important thing for now is to stay alive. The purpose of the movement control order is to save people’s lives, not their appearance.”

It also called on Putrajaya to revoke any permit awarded to any hair salons to resume business during the MCO.

The association said that apart from the greater risk of infection, robbers might start targeting hair salons too. It might also cause increased traffic on the roads, troubling the police to control the public and possibly lead to another extension of the MCO.

The association also lamented that if the Covid-19 outbreak affects the hairdressing sector, it would also affect customers’ confidence towards hair salons.

It added that should hair salon employees contract the virus in the course of work, employers would have to foot all the cost of their treatment bills, which would be a constraint.

“This is a very unprotected situation, because during this critical period, the process of hair cutting is equally as high-risk work as medical staff, and it is a zero-distancing service process, which should not be ignored.

“The government should consider giving a high level of protection before deciding whether to approve the hairdressing industry to resume business during this restriction of movement control order period of time,” it added.

Malaysia's Ministry of Health said on Saturday that measures taken in the first and second phase of the MCO should be maintained, and any move to loosen it should be delayed for now.

Malaysia's Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah urged for the operations of certain sectors, such as barbers, to be postponed in the next week until data confirms the country has recovered. MALAY MAIL