KUALA LUMPUR – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob has finally made the long-awaited announcement to open the country’s borders.
During a press conference in Parliament this evening, Ismail Sabri said the country is “transitioning towards the endemic” phase of Covid-19 starting April 1 this year.
He said he believed the big announcement has been highly anticipated by the people.
“This announcement will also reinvigorate the nation’s economy, especially for a while, and especially for the travel industry, which has been badly affected by the pandemic,” he said.
In light of the development, The Vibes has looked into what the announcement means for Malaysians and foreigners travelling in and out of the country.
Unrestricted travel
- Malaysians with valid travel documents can exit and re-enter the country’s borders without any restriction or need for special permission from the Immigration Department.
This means that they will also be able to travel to any country that has opened its borders to foreigners, subject to the visa requirements of the respective countries.
- Foreigners with valid travel documents can also enter Malaysia without applying for the MyTravelPass, which has been abolished.
They will only need to download and activate the MySejahtera app and complete the pre-departure form through the “Traveller” function in MySejahtera.
No quarantine for fully vaxxed, just rapid testing
- Fully vaccinated travellers entering Malaysia are no longer required to undergo any quarantine period. Instead, they will only need to take Covid-19 RT-PCR tests two days before departing for Malaysia, and take the professional RTK-Ag test within 24 hours of arrival in the country.
- The relaxed rules on quarantine do not apply to those who were not fully vaccinated due to medical reasons.
However, Ismail said the health minister is expected to make an announcement on the matter tomorrow (March 9).
- The government is also expected to issue more detailed standard operating procedures for Malaysian border entry points involving travel via sea and land.
Vaccinated Travel Lane arrangement to be expanded
While not all countries, especially in Southeast Asia, have announced a full opening of their borders, Ismail Sabri said Malaysians can still benefit from the Vaccinated Travel Lanes (VTL) set up by the Malaysian government and its counterparts.
The VTL lanes have been existent between Malaysia and Singapore last year, while the programme will be expanded to Brunei, Thailand, and Indonesia soon.
Domestic travel for all, regardless of vax status
The prime minister, in his announcement, said all individuals would be allowed to embark on interstate travel regardless of their vaccination status. – The Vibes, March 8, 2022
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