KUALA LUMPUR, May 19 — The Ministry of Health (MOH) said today it is looking at fine-tuning the proposed standard operating procedure (SOP) for barbers and hairstylists to operate under the conditional movement control order (CMCO).

Its director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the ministry has received appeal letters from the relevant parties on the SOP implementation of the barbers and hairstylists.

"We are in the midst of fine-tuning the SOP as the industry is physically in contact with its customers and we want to make sure that Covid-19 infections can be avoided,” he said during the Health Ministry’s daily briefing on Covid-19.

Dr Noor Hisham was responding to MOH’s latest move on the appeal letters submitted by grooming and hair dressing associations.

Aside from the SOP, Dr Noor Hisham said the authorities are keen to look at the industry’s existing data to know how many foreign barbers are operating.

"We need to know the data before we can propose to open a barber shop,” he said.

Earlier, Senior Minister (Security) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the government has yet to decide whether to allow the barber and hair stylist outlets to operate.