2020

Dear Friends of Malaysia,

Our government has agreed to allow the reopening of tourism and cultural sectors in the areas under the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) starting December 19.

The reopening includes Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) industry, tourism products, cultural and heritage exhibitions as well as theme parks, family entertainment centres and indoor playgrounds.

Under tourism products, activities that are allowed to reopen include zoos, farms, extreme & adventure parks, nature parks, recreational areas, aquariums, museums, art galleries, libraries, cultural & arts centre, cultural villages & performances, and educational exhibition centres.

Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said visitor capacity is limited to 50 per cent while the stage performances are allowed without the presence of the audience.

Also allowed to reopen are the dry and water parks, arcade games, indoor funfair, kids play parks and edutainment centres. You can find the complete standard operating procedures (SOPs) presented by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC) here.

For the upcoming Christmas celebration on December 25, private gatherings of not more than 20 people are allowed in the landed properties. You can also find detailed SOPs here.

Meanwhile, our government has given the green light to the reopening of the sports and recreational sector including water sports in phases, effective January 1 2021, except in the areas under the Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO).

According to Ismail Sabri, local sports tournaments such as the Malaysian Football League will be permitted in Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) areas with 10 per cent audience capacity or a maximum of 4,000 people. For the football match in the states placed under the CMCO, it will be held without the presence of spectators.

However, sports participation of over 500 participants is not allowed. But the training capacity for both individual and team-based sports in the CMCO areas should not exceed 50 per cent with no spectators.

The CMCO in Kuala Lumpur, Sabah, Selangor (except Sabak Bernam, Hulu Selangor & Kuala Selangor districts) as well as other areas in Negeri Sembilan (Seremban & Port Dickson) and Johor (Johor Bahru, Batu Pahat & Kulai) is extended until December 31.

As of December 21, Malaysia celebrated the recoveries of 1,084 more patients, and the overall COVID-19 recovery rate is at 82.2%. At the same time, Malaysia also recorded 2,018 new cases, totalling 95,327 cases nationwide. The total deaths are 438 cases or 0.5% of the confirmed cases.