Dear Friends of Malaysia,
The National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme kicked off on 24 February, and our Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin became the first person to receive the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
In a televised live from the Putrajaya District Health office, Tan Sri Muhyiddin had volunteered to get the jab to build public confidence for the mass vaccination programme that started two days earlier than scheduled. Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, with four healthcare workers, also received the vaccines.
The media reported that over 500,000 individuals have registered under the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme, in which Malaysia aims to inoculate almost 83 per cent of its 33 million population. The vaccines will be given free to both Malaysians and foreign workers residing in the country.
Meanwhile, the government has allowed the reopening of the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) sector in the Movement Control Order (MCO) areas effective 5 March. According to Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, the number of participants is set at 25 per cent of the venue capacity or not more than 250 people at a time.
Starting 19 February, the tourism, arts and culture activities are permitted to resume in the more relaxed COVID-19 restrictions, namely Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) and Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) with strict standard operating procedures (SOPs) in place.
However, the number of visitors is limited to 50 per cent of the usual capacity. This includes several tourist attractions such as zoos, museums, aquariums, recreational parks, nature parks, art galleries, cultural centres/villages, among others.
Most states are currently placed under CMCO namely Negeri Sembilan, Melaka, Perak, Kedah, Pahang, Kelantan, Terengganu, Sabah, Sarawak as well as Federal Territories of Putrajaya and Labuan. Perlis is the only state to observe the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) until 4 March.
As of 25 February, another 3,752 COVID-19 patients have recovered so far in Malaysia, and the overall COVID-19 recovery rate is at 89.81%. At the same time, Malaysia also recorded 1,924 new cases, totalling 293,698 cases nationwide. The total deaths are 1,100 cases or representing 0.37% of the confirmed cases.