Janet in Community News On May 10, 2021, 2:14 pm

151 Locations Listed As COVID-19 High-Risk Areas; Malls & Supermarkets Closed For 3 Days For Sanitisation

Malls and supermarkets closed for sanitisation

In the latest efforts to help curb the spread of COVID-19, the government has announced that 151 premises and locations nationwide, including shopping malls, supermarkets, banks, food courts, will be closed for sanitisation purposes. These premises are located across states such as KL and Selangor, and will close from 9th May to 11th May.

To avoid disappointment while shopping for essentials at this time, you’ll want to take note of the following areas that will be closed during these 3 days.

151 locations listed as potential COVID-19 cluster spots

On 8th May 2021, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) announced on their website a total of 151 locations that will have to close immediately for sanitisation purposes.

Places affected are said to be locations where COVID-19 clusters are likely to emerge, as determined by Hotspot Identification For Dynamic Engagement (HIDE) – a system that identifies these high-risk areas based off MySejahtera sign-in data, as reported by The Edge Markets.

The list released is said to help individuals “make better plans and choices for travel” to avoid getting COVID-19. It’s also to alert premise owners and management to be on guard for the spread of the virus if their locations are found on the list.

Locations, malls in KL and Selangor mainly affected

These premises and locations are mainly located in KL and Selangor, with areas in Putrajaya, Johor, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Penang Island, Perak, Kelantan, Sabah and Sarawak also affected.

List of areas affected in KL, Selangor, and more.
Image adapted from: @officialmosti

Some popular malls in KL that are closed until tomorrow, 11th May, are Pavilion KL, Bangsar Shopping Centre, Mid Valley Megamall, MyTOWN Shopping Centre, NU Sentral Shopping Centre, Suria KCLC, Sunway Velocity, KL East Mall, Suria KLCC and Fahrenheit88 Mall.

All retailers and restaurants located in the malls are also closed. Malls affected by the announcement such as Pavilion KL and MyTOWN Shopping Centre have since come out to notify shoppers of their closures.

2 LRT stations, in KLCC and Masjid Jamek, and Pasar Borong KL are ordered to close too.

Malls will carry out sanitisation works to ensure shoppers’ safety
Image credit: MyTOWN Shopping Centre

In Selangor, 1 Utama Shopping Centre, Sunway Pyramid, The Curve, The Mines Shopping Mall, Subang Parade, Main Place Mall, Paradigm Mall and more are closed as well.

Not left out are supermarkets, with Lotus’s in Kepong and Cheras in KL, and 9 locations in Selangor, including Puchong and Bandar Bukit Puchong, shutting its doors temporarily. 99 Speedmart locations in Bangsar, Sri Bintang and Taman Wangsa Ukay in KL, and 4 locations in Selangor are also closed.

Continued list of places in areas that have to close
Image adapted from: @officialmosti

9 areas in Johor identified as high-risk areas include Giant Hypermarket in Plenton and Tampoi, as well as The Mall Mid Valley Southkey. In Penang, there are 5 areas affected, including Queensbay Mall and Gurney Paragon Mall.

Places listed do not have COVID-19 clusters

To ease shoppers’ worries, National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme Coordinating Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has since come out to say that the locations listed by MOSTI do not have confirmed COVID-19 clusters reported there, according to Bernama.

They were included in the list so safety measures can be carried out at each location, which may see a spread of COVID-19 there as they are popular places visited by individuals, even during the pandemic.

These measures include conducting COVID-19 tests on workers and limiting visitors for a period of time.

A line spotted by a netizen for NSK Kota Damansara yesterday, 9th May, as other supermarkets in the area closed for sanitisation.
Image credit: Fazli Zainudin

Rest assured, premises and locations on the list will be removed once the cause of concern is over in the area, and confirmed by MOSTI in daily announcements.

151 locations, including malls and supermarkets, closed for sanitisation for 3 days

It’s always best to be safe than sorry during the pandemic, with daily cases in Malaysia surpassing the 4,500 mark this weekend again on 8th May. So while it comes as a blow to many who will have to forgo visiting their usual haunts to shop for essentials, closing these malls and supermarkets for sanitisation is an important step towards preventing the spread of COVID-19.