In a milestone, Malaysia has fully vaccinated 90 per cent of its adult population, enabling the government to lift interstate and international travel restrictions that have been in place for months.
In a televised interview, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said that fully vaccinated Malaysians will be allowed to cross state borders from October 11. Not only that, the requirement to apply for the MyTravelPass scheme to travel overseas has also been dropped for fully-vaccinated citizens, he added.
Even as he announced the lifting of the curbs, Ismail Sabri advised people to continue following Covid-19 protocols such as mask-wearing to keep the virus in check.
“Despite all the concessions that have been announced, the fact is that we have to live with the virus,” Bloomberg quoted Ismail as saying.
“The situation demands that people continue to adhere to SOPs. I’d like to remind people not to be complacent about the relaxations," he added.
To fight its worst Covid-19 wave in recent months, Malaysians had been prohibited from travelling between the country's different states since January. Even international travel was allowed for those who got special permission by applying through an official system.
{{/usCountry}}To fight its worst Covid-19 wave in recent months, Malaysians had been prohibited from travelling between the country's different states since January. Even international travel was allowed for those who got special permission by applying through an official system.
{{/usCountry}}It must be noted that even as the new travel rules will come into effect from Monday, returning travellers will still need to undergo quarantine.
The country has registered over 2.3 million virus cases and 27,000 deaths so far. Malaysia could keep the virus in check last year by closing its borders and imposing strict restrictions, it was, however, hard hit by the Delta strain this year with the country logging over 20,000 cases every day in August.
With fast vaccine rollouts, the country has now managed to bend the curve. The country is aiming to reopen all economic and social sectors by the end of the year.