Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia will relax some Covid-19 restrictions for fully vaccinated Malaysians and permanent residents (PR) returning from overseas will now be able to serve their quarantine at home beginning Aug 10, said Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.
“Citizens and non-citizens with homes in Malaysia, including PRs and those staying here under Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme, can undergo home quarantine under digital home surveillance order,” Mr Muhyiddin said in a televised address on Sunday (Aug 8).
Other privileges extended to fully vaccinated individuals included allowing long-distance married couples to cross-district or state borders to meet up, while fully vaccinated parents are also allowed to travel within the country to meet their children who are under 18 years old.
According to the government, a person is considered fully vaccinated 14 days after being administered the second dose of two-dose COVID-19 vaccines, such as Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca or Sinovac.
Those who receive one-dose vaccines such as the Johnson & Johnson or CanSino vaccines must wait 28 days after the shot to be qualified as fully vaccinated.
The privileges would be in force from Aug 10 onwards, Mr Muhyiddin said, and further details on the privileges would be issued by the National Security Council (NSC) in the near future.
The prime minister also announced that privileges for the economic sector were being considered at the National Security Council and would also be announced soon by him.
“These privileges do not mean we can neglect the standard operating procedures (SOPs) already in place,” he stressed.
“I have ordered the Home Affairs Minister, as chairman of the committee on COVID-19 SOPs enforcement and adherence coordination, to ensure that the ministries and agencies responsible will carry out enforcement and adherence activities on these privileges given,” Mr Muhyiddin said.
He added that the government would not hesitate to revoke all the privileges extended if there was any non-adherence to the guidelines and SOPs.
Meanwhile, the government has also lifted certain COVID-19 curbs for states and federal territories which have already transitioned into the second and third phases of the National Recovery Plan (NPR).
Dine-in, cross-district travel and domestic tourism activities, for instance, would be allowed for fully vaccinated people.
Residents in these areas would also be able to enjoy a wider range of non-contact and individual sports and recreational activities, including fishing, equestrian sports, hiking, archery and golf.
Currently, Perlis, Sarawak and the federal territory of Labuan have transitioned into the NPR’s third phase.
Six other states, including Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Perak, Penang and Sabah, are in the second phase, while the rest are still in phase one.
Courtesy: CNA
