Self-test for Covid-19 before 'balik kampung' - Khairy

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has called on those who want to “balik kampung” (return to hometown) to do a Covid-19 self-test before making interstate travel.

In fact, he said people living in high contact and mobility settings are encouraged to conduct regular Covid-19 testing.

Khairy in his Twitter update today said there is only 1.6 percent left before Malaysia hits the 90 percent threshold for the government to open interstate travel.

“While the Health Ministry has transitioned to symptomatic testing, we encourage people who are in high contact and mobility settings to test regularly.

“If you want to ‘balik kampung’ to see your elderly parents, do the RTK saliva test. Keep them safe,” he said.

Based on the CovidNow portal, a total of 20,698,852 or 88.4 percent of the adult population in the country have completed their Covid-19 vaccination as of yesterday, less than two percent short of the targeted 90 percent.

On Sept 22, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said interstate activity would only be allowed when 90 percent of adults in Malaysia were vaccinated against Covid-19.

In another tweet, Khairy noted that as the country is moving towards treating the Covid-19 pandemic as endemic, it much now depends on personal responsibility and behaviour.

“As we transition towards endemicity, we cannot police things anymore such as set up roadblocks to see if you have been fully vaccinated. I believe we can rise to the challenge in #ReopeningSafely,” he added.

- Bernama