Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah has urged the government to continue to suspend operations of barber shops allowed under Phase 3 of the Movement Control Order (MCO).

He explained the government could allow plan for such premises to reopen but it should not be implemented while the order was still in force.

"I am sure many people were affected by the MCO 1 and 2. We are still fighting COVID-19 but we have not won yet. What is important is action. And we have seen some early signs of success.

"Among the actions that have succeeded in bringing down cases are border control, restriction on gathering and social distancing practices," he said at a press conference here on Saturday.

At the same time, Dr Noor Hisham said, phase three of MCO should be tightened just as it was in the first and second phase.

"All our actions need to be tightened in Phase 3 of MCO. In terms of planning to open or restrict movement, the MoH recommends that we maintain what was done during phase one and two. Perhaps planning can be done but delay its implementation for now," he added.

However, he said, plans to reopen barber shops could be made after phase three of MCO but it would depend on the country's achievements in reducing COVID-19 cases.

"We need to see after the third phase, what are our actions. So, the planning begins now.

“But what is important we need to monitor the daily data and see for ourselves whether we have achieved the projection to reduce COVID-19 cases in our country,” he said.