Harapan moots stricter requirements for 'green pass'

 

Pakatan Harapan's health committee has urged the government to impose stricter measures for the "green pass" which will begin on Tuesday.

The committee cautioned the prime minister and federal government that the reopening of the country must be done with due care because Covid-19 vaccination coverage was still low and uneven across different states.

"A hasty and poorly thought reopening would only introduce an additional unpredictable variable into the pandemic equation, which would further burden the struggling healthcare system," it said in a statement today. 

The conditions for a "green pass", said the committee, should be as follows:

1. Vaccination coverage of at least 60 percent.
2. All high-risk groups must be fully vaccinated.
3. The healthcare capacity is less than 70 percent occupied.
4. The Covid-19 test positivity rate should be less than 5 percent.
5. The Covid-19 incidence rate should be less than 250 per 100,000 of active cases.

As of yesterday, 67.4 percent of the adult population has received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine while 37.5 percent has received two doses.

According to Health Ministry data, the average use of intensive care unit (ICU) beds (Covid-19 and non-Covid-19) was at 86.41 percent.

Notably, Sarawak which has a relatively high vaccination rate (62.2 percent with at least one dose), recorded an ICU use rate of 50.51 percent.

As of yesterday, the test positivity rate was relatively high at 13.03 percent. Positivity rates have been in the double digits for 19 continuous days.

Yesterday, the federal government announced plans to reduce some travel restrictions for fully vaccinated individuals.

For areas undergoing Phase 2 of the National Recovery Plan, relaxed rules allow for dining in, intrastate travel and outdoor activities.

The only areas still in Phase 1 are Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Negeri Sembilan, Kedah, Johor, Malacca and Putrajaya. - Mkini