KUALA LUMPUR – Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin called on those who want to “balik kampung” (return to their hometowns) to do a Covid-19 self-test before making interstate trips.
In fact, he said, people living in high contact and mobility settings are encouraged to conduct regular Covid-19 testings.
In his Twitter update today, Khairy said there is only 1.6% left before Malaysia hits the 90% 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-Ag test. Keep them safe,” he said.
Based on the COVIDNOW portal, a total of 20,698,852 or 88.4% of the adult population in the country have completed their Covid-19 vaccination as of yesterday, less than 2% short of the targeted 90%.
On September 22, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said that interstate activity will be allowed when 90% of adults in Malaysia are vaccinated against Covid-19.
In another tweet, Khairy noted that as the country is moving towards treating the Covid-19 pandemic as endemic, the situation now greatly depends on personal responsibility and behaviour.
“As we transition towards endemicity, we cannot police things anymore and do things 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, October 6, 2021
