Dear Diary,
We are almost there.
From Movement Control Order (MCO) to Conditional MCO and now Recovery MCO (RMCO), life will almost be back to normal soon. Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin says RMCO will be from June 10 until Aug 31 with more easing of restrictions.
Among those are:
- Interstate travel will be permitted, except to Enhanced Movement Control Order areas. (EMCO can still be re-imposed in areas that record high number of positive cases.)
- Schools will be opened in stages.
- Local tourism encouraged.
- Non-contact sports and recreational activities to resume.
- Visits to museums, entertainment and creative outlets to be eased.
- Indoor busking and filming permitted.
- Hair salons, open markets and car boot sales allowed.
- Hari Raya Aidiladha celebration and Qurban activities allowed under strict SOPs.
However:
- Country’s borders remain shut to foreigners.
- Reflexology centres, nightclubs, theme parks and karaoke centres, as well as large gatherings such as kenduri, are still barred.
- Sports events and contact sports still not allowed.
So, nearly back to normalcy except we still have to live with masks and hand sanitisers.
Meanwhile, over in the United States, two Buffalo police officers were charged with assault after shoving an elderly protester to the ground at a march against racism. For live updates, click here.
Here’s how Day 82 of MCO unfolded.
6.43am: JORDAN BACKING – Former Chicago Bulls superstar Michael Jordan to donate US$100 million (RM426.8 million) over the next decade to organisations dedicated to race equality after joining George Floyd protesters in demanding an end to police brutality.
7.30am: SECOND DAY OF TORTURE – With the need to finish my boot camp sessions, it’s consecutive days of torture – on my wedding anniversary. Some would say being married to me is the worst torture for the missus.
8.59am: STUBBORN COVIDIOTS – My daughter and her friend finally came out of the house when they went walking around the park. Later we had breakfast – on two separate tables– but some covidiots who were clearly not family members, sat three or four per table.
9.20am: SOCIAL DIS-DANCING – Clubbers at Doornroosje in the eastern city of Nijmegen, Netherlands, enjoy short sets of electronic dance music in the afternoon. They sat on chairs but when the lights went down and the sound came up, almost everything fell into place.
10.10am: AMAZING
WATCH: These @ReutersPictures show houses in China whose owners refuse to sell them to property developers. More pictures: https://t.co/c8uzqL0cwp pic.twitter.com/ime0l2c8hM
— Reuters (@Reuters) June 7, 2020
11.12am: AMEN – British places of worship to reopen partly on June 15.
12.01pm: AFTERNOON LAUGH
1.56PM: GOODBYE FOR GOOD? – Conor McGregor announces shock retirement from MMA at the age of 31 – the third time he has quit the sport.
2pm: ONLY MALAYSIANS – Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob says only Malaysians will be allowed to attend congregational and Friday prayers at mosques once rules are relaxed.
Also, non-Muslim couples whose marriage registrations have been affected or delayed by the implementation of the movement control order (MCO) will have until July 31 to finalise their situation.
He adds SOPS for sports-related activities will be revealed tomorrow.
3.13pm: FOR BALLERS – Catch these shows on Astro.
4pm: THE BIG BENG THEORY – Former Asian squash champion Ong Beng Hee talks about his experience as Qatar Squash Federation director of coaching, biceps and fruits on the RSS with HD.
5.34pm: BACK TO ZERO – After two deaths in two days, there were none today. Fatalities remain at 117. There are 19 new cases, taking the total to 8,322. Another 39 patients are discharged, meaning 6,674 have been cured.
6.52pm: UNLUCKY SEVEN – Global Covid-19 cases surpass seven million with 402,660 deaths at the time of writing.
7.30pm: HE FORGOT IT WAS SUNDAY – It’s been a while since we had a John Prine song. Here’s one and yes, it doesn’t feel like a Sunday.
