The recently-announced Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) has convinced many Malaysians to step out of their houses and surround themselves with nature and greeneries to relive their stress of being indoors.

A recent observation at Taman Tugu, located near Taman Tasik Perdana in Kuala Lumpur has shown a sudden a surge of visitors dabbling in recreational activities.

For the past week, Taman Tugu has received an overwhelming number of visitors ranging between 3,000 and 5,000 people on weekly basis.

According to its Head of Brands and Communications of the Taman Tugu Project, Tracey Surin, several changes have been implemented for visitors to adhere when they hike or walk in the park.

Surin said only the main trail -- which is approximately a 3km loop -- is accessible by the public.

“The trails were (initially) two directional, now it is single directional, there are also additional signages everywhere to remind people of social distancing.”

The trails have also been rerouted to provide separate entry and exit points, as well as to ensure that everyone moves in a one-way circulation manner.

In addition to that, visitor counts are conducted throughout the day at the entry and exit points of the trails to allow room for social distancing measures.

“Even some areas, such as the rest area, zumba and yoga areas are closed temporarily to discourage group activities,” said Tracey when contacted by Astro AWANI recently.

She also said the management will consider whether or not these changes will be lifted since the RMCO has taken place since June 10.

Since the reopening of Taman Tugu, the management has received positive responses by the visitors from various communities including runners, hikers and families with younger kids.

“We’ve also noticed more expatriates (visiting) and traffic during the weekdays as there is more flexibility since people are still working from home,” she added.

The Taman Tugu Project is a non-profit corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative led by Khazanah Nasional Berhad.

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