Key Information for Travelers to Malaysia.
Dear Friends of Malaysia,
Our government has started a mass vaccination in Langkawi as part of its COVID-19 Free Destination Programme to kick-start tourism recovery where tourists can fly in for holidays.
In supporting the acceleration of the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out, The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia (MOTAC) has outlined its three-phase plan, which is in line with the National Recovery Plan (NRP). In the first phase, the government will increase the vaccination capacity for the people of Langkawi and turn the Langkawi Craft Complex into a public vaccination centre (PPV) beginning mid-July.
The ministry is also planning to include Kuching, the capital city of Sarawak state, in the COVID-19 Free Destination Programme, and incorporate Malaysia’s best islands for holidays such as Redang, Perhentian, Pangkor and Tioman in the second phase.
Meanwhile, Malaysia currently remains under the nationwide lockdown of the first phase of NRP, a four-phase COVID-19 exit plan that will likely see a full reopening of economic and social activities, including the tourism industry, by the end of this year.
To ease the lockdown measure to a second phase, COVID-19 daily cases in Malaysia need to drop below 4,000 with 10 per cent of its population has to be fully vaccinated, and the intensive care unit (ICU) occupancy rates in hospitals need to return to a moderate level.
On another note, Prime Minister Tan Sri Dato’ Haji Mahiaddin Bin Haji Md Yasin has recently unveiled the latest RM150 billion aid package named Pakej Perlindungan Rakyat dan Pemulihan Ekonomi (Pemulih), which includes RM10 billion direct fiscal injection by the government to tide Malaysians over the nationwide lockdown.
The Pemulih package is targeted at assisting households and businesses affected by the pandemic in the form of cash aids, loan moratoriums, tax breaks, grants, wage subsidies and unemployment assistance.
Besides, an additional RM400 million would be allocated by the government to buy more vaccines to ensure 130 per cent of the country’s population would be covered and extend inoculations to 6.4 million youths aged 12 to 18.
Around 17.2 per cent of Malaysia’s population have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 6.8 per cent have received two doses to date (29 June 2021, 11.59 p.m.).
As of 30 June 2021, another 4,929 COVID-19 patients have recovered so far in Malaysia, and the overall COVID-19 recovery rate is at 90.78%. At the same time, Malaysia also recorded 6,276 new cases, totalling 751,979 cases nationwide. The total number of deaths is 5,170 cases or representing 0.69% of the confirmed cases.
