No vaccine, no dine-in, health minister says

Only fully vaccinated individuals will be allowed to dine in regardless of which phase of the National Recovery Plan (NRP) their state is in, said Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin today.

He said SOPs issued by the National Security Council had not been updated to reflect this, but that an official statement would be issued soon."Dine-in privileges for all recovery phases only for those fully vaccinated," he said.

Khairy's clarification comes as the Klang Valley and Malacca entered Phase 3 of the NRP today.

The NSC guidelines issued on Sept 24 do not stipulate that vaccination is a requirement for dining-in under Phase 3.

But even with the vaccine rule in place, there appear to be gaps in enforcement.

Last week, police launched a probe against a man in Kelantan, who claimed to have been able to dine in despite being unvaccinated.

Kelantan is still under Phase 2 of the NRP.

In a statement later, Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said for all activities that were limited to fully vaccinated individuals, the requirement will remain in place for all phases of the NRP.

As for people who can’t be vaccinated for medical reasons, they will need to provide information on their health status that is verified by a medical officer.

“The decision was made taking into account the safety of the people, as the resumption of economic and social activities and the safe transition to the endemic phase.

“This phase transition needs to be done through a whole-of-nation approach involving the entire government machinery and its agencies, industry, and society with the sole mission of realising this wish,” he said.

He reminded people to register themselves and their families for vaccination, maintain strict compliance with the SOPs, and take responsibility in helping the country get out of the pandemic.

He also urged people to take public health measures, such as by undergoing Covid-19 self-testing if they experience any symptoms and isolating themselves if they test positive.

“We are frontliners in protecting our families and our communities from Covid-19 infection. As the health minister has said, we are not safe until everyone is safe.”- Mkini