THE bliss and joy of Hari Raya Aidilfitri can still be felt. The enjoyment is definitely doubled or tripled for the majority of us who have not been able to celebrate Aidilfitri in our hometowns for the past two years due to the Movement Control Order (MCO) amid the Covid-19 threat.
Most of us now are back at work in the main cities including Kuala Lumpur. However, the Hari Raya celebration is still continuing. After two years of refraining from hosting Hari Raya open house for neighbours, relatives and friends, this is the time to do so.
Because of this, the people of Kuala Lumpur will experience traffic congestions, every weekend in the month of Syawal, due to the increasing people attending Hari Raya open houses.
In our happiness and joy of celebrating Hari Raya in the "old" normal — the hometown and the open house — do not forget that we are celebrating it in the transition phase — from pandemic to endemic. During this phase, the virus is still around us.
It's just that more people have gained protection from vaccination and from natural infection, and therefore, transmission will be less and so will Covid-19-related hospitalisation and deaths. Thus, in celebrating our "victory" for being able to fast for the whole month of Ramadan, please continue to adhere to Covid-19 SOP.
Organising Hari Raya open house is a very commendable act in Islam. It has many praiseworthy elements such as preparing and offering food for guests; providing a platform for people to meet and get to know each other; for those who already know each other it allows them to meet and catch up on things; it also allows the host to give "duit raya" to children as gifts or sedekah, etc.
However, since the open house is held during the transition phase, we need to adhere to the SOPs in order to reduce the risk of infection, both to the hosts as well as the guests. This can be done in many ways. Firstly, schedule the arrival time for the guests so that they will arrive at staggered times.
For example, from noon to 1pm, 50 guests consisting of neighbours from the same street. Another 50 guests comprising colleagues and friends from the office for the next hour. Then, another 50 consisting of relatives who live in the Klang Valley for the third hour. Inform the guests about the schedule so that they will arrive and leave within the time allocated for them.
Secondly, practise social distancing in arranging the tables and chairs for the guests. Spatially placed round tables are more convenient as compared with a few long tables that are put closely together.
Thirdly, serve food at several food stations to avoid congestion at one long food station. Finally, do self-test for Covid-19 before the event to ensure that we and our family members are healthy to host the open house.
If the hosts have to abide by the SOP, so do the guests. If we are invited to an open house, take the following measures so that we do not infect others at the event, and at the same time, we are not infected by others.
Do a self-test to make sure that we and our family members are healthy to attend the open house. If the host has scheduled our arrival time, please follow accordingly.
If the host has arranged the tables and seats to be far from each other, do not move them in order to be closer to your friends and family.
Be patient when helping yourselves with the food to avoid congestion at the food stations. Use hand sanitiser as often as possible. Take leave when the time is up. Don't forget to thank the host and make supplications (du'as) for them.
For some of us, we have not been able to celebrate Hari Raya with our extended families back in our hometowns for two years. Alhamdulillah, this year we are able to do so. Be grateful for this opportunity.
One way of expressing our gratitude is by taking the abovementioned measures when organising or attending Hari Raya open houses so that we can curb the risk of spreading Covid-I9. Selamat Hari Raya. Maaf Zahir Batin. Ziarah safe.
The writer is Senior Fellow, Centre for Economic and Social Studies, Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia (IKIM)
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times