Roads were mostly clear and shopping complexes had fewer patrons than usual, checks by FMT showed. Traders met, said the lull started as early as Monday evening when the health ministry announced Penang’s biggest jump in cases —141 in a single day— all at the Penang Prison.
And when the news of an impending targeted lockdown within the confines of the prison and an adjoining staff quarters came, rumour mongers took to WhatsApp, claiming the entire George Town district would be locked down from Tuesday night.
“Thanks to this fake news, we had few dine-in customers at my shop, which was the worst ever since March. Our shop was only 30% filled,” said restaurant owner A Suriya, whose shop is on the same road as the prison complex and Penang Hospital.
The shop is a favourite among doctors and those visiting the hospital.
“Many had come in asking us, ‘why aren’t you closing down? Your area is under lockdown you know’,” Suriya added. He said the rumours of a lockdown had cost him losses and other food traders along the busy street.
For kopitiam operator Tan Kar Seong, yesterday morning’s crowd was telling. He said only eight patrons showed up to have coffee and its famous char bee hoon in the morning, while less than 10 came for economy rice.
“There is no one today. Last week was okay,” Tan, who is also president of the Penang And Province Wellesley Cafe Association, said yesterday.
The same situation was reported at the famed Chowrasta Market, with traders saying there was a sharp drop in customers. Its traders’ association chief Mohamed Nasir Mohideen said footfalls had dropped by 70% yesterday.
“After the lockdown was lifted in June, numbers went up again to 50%. But since Monday, the wet market and stalls had barely anyone,” he said.
Nasir, who represents 200-odd traders in the market, said his own seafood shop did not have a single customer or order yesterday.
But for sundry shops, the momentum was not lost. Tan Cheng Eow, who is Penang’s Sundry Shops Association deputy chief, said sales were brisk as many continued to buy produce and other goods, so as to stay at home.
“The 141 cases on Monday scared the hell out of a lot of people. We have had a steady stream of people stocking up. But our neighbouring makan shops are in bad shape,” he said.
Restaurant owner Gary Nair is furious at the “uneducated fools” who spread fake news about a lockdown and hoped the authorities would throw the book on the rumour monger.
“This has to stop. A lot of harm has been done. Food has been prepared but no one is turning up, just because of one idiot who decides to ruin it for all of us.”
Penang assemblyman Joseph Ng urged all to not trust viral recorded messages but to check with legitimate sources such as news sites and for Covid-19, the health ministry or the state’s own penanglawancovid19.com.
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