Yao Wenlong forced to temporarily close restaurant in JB after Malaysia's MCO 3.0

With Malaysia poised to enter yet another lockdown from June 1 to 14 after a record number of coronavirus cases last Friday (May 28), things are looking bad for Malaysian actor Yao Wenlong's restaurant.

The 50-year-old, who is currently in Johor Bahru, told Lianhe Wanbao that he has temporarily closed his restaurant.

He said: "The situation now is incredibly severe. We are very worried about the safety of our workers and we are worried about patrons getting infected in the restaurant. It's hard to operate as per normal so we have decided to close temporarily."

Wenlong also admitted that business has dropped by 90 per cent due to the movement control order and it's hard to sustain it.

The veteran also revealed that a friend of his died after contracting Covid-19. He shared: "I had a friend who was running an F&B business in Johor Bahru before he expanded to Kuala Lumpur. Once he left for Kuala Lumpur, though, he never returned.

"I'm 50 and I have seen my friends leave us because of viruses and sickness. It's very sorrowful."

Wenlong is very keen to get vaccinated and has registered for the vaccination programme in Malaysia but it's not his turn yet.

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He said: "I hope to get vaccinated soon. If everyone is vaccinated, it'll help society and the country.

"I can't wait for the day when the borders between Singapore and Johor Bahru are opened and everyone has been vaccinated [and doing their part] to control the pandemic and lower the risk of transmission."

bryanlim@asiaone.com