PETALING JAYA: Interstate travel for fully vaccinated adults will be allowed from tomorrow, now that the country has fully vaccinated 90% of the adult population, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said.
He also announced that Malaysians will now be allowed to travel overseas.
It will be the first time since January that interstate travel will be allowed without the need for police permission. Malaysians had also been barred from travelling overseas for non-official or emergency reasons since the onset of the pandemic in March last year
“With this, people are free to travel to their hometowns to visit their parents and go for holidays and so on,” Ismail said in a special televised address.
However, he reminded the people not to let their guard down as it could lead to an increase in Covid-19 cases.
“For example, if you want to return to your hometown to see your parents or travel to another state, test yourself for Covid-19 before embarking on your journey.
“For those with symptoms, including fever, cough, flu and difficulty in breathing, please postpone your plans to travel.”
Ismail added that only those who have been fully vaccinated were allowed to travel.
Although there would be no roadblocks for those travelling to other states, the authorities will still be carrying out random checks on their vaccination status.
Ismail also announced the government has abolished the #MyTravelPass programme for Malaysians who wish to travel overseas from tomorrow.
However, this applies only to fully vaccinated travellers who must also undergo mandatory quarantine upon their return to Malaysia.
He also said that Covid-19 restrictions remain in place for those who have not been vaccinated.
This, he said, not only included interstate or international travel but activities like dining-in.
Ismail said as the country moved towards the endemic phase, the people will need to take greater self-care measures, including self-testing, if they experienced symptoms, reporting their situation, self-isolating, informing close contacts of their status and seeking medical attention.
He also reminded owners of premises, be it shops, gyms, offices and so on, to check the vaccination and risk status of those who want to enter their premises.
“We are allowing Malaysians to travel to any other country but our country is still not open to foreign travellers, except for emergency and business matters. But the health ministry is looking into this matter.”
Ismail said the government had not set a date for Malaysia to enter the endemic phase.
The health ministry and the National Security Council, he added, were still looking at reviewing and possibly reducing the number of standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the endemic phase.
“What is important is what we do to protect ourselves. The only ones who can ensure SOPs are followed is us.”
He also said even if there was an increase in cases in certain areas, the government would not lock down entire areas.
“For example, if cases are detected in a hotel in Langkawi, we will not lock down the whole island. What we need to do is close the hotel.
“I know there are fears that we will go into a lockdown like before if the number of cases go up.
“I want to give my assurance that life will go on as normal, though we will close certain areas.”
- FMT
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