Ismail Sabri: Malaysia allows interstate travel from 11th October at midnight

[ UPDATE 10/10/2021 20:50 ]: Sarawak reopens borders for interstate travel from 11th October. However, travellers must apply for entry permits online and produce negative test result as well as proof of full vaccination. Details here.

[ UPDATE 10/10/2021 19:00 ]: Sabah state government will decide whether to lift interstate travel restrictions on Wednesday. More details here.

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Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob has announced that interstate travel restrictions in Malaysia will be lifted from midnight tonight. As announced this afternoon, travel between states is allowed after 90% of total adults in Malaysia have been fully vaccinated.

Prior to this, interstate travel is only given to long-distance couples and police permission was required. Effective tomorrow, 11th October, interstate travel is permitted and this includes domestic tourism and Balik Kampung trips to visit loved ones.

The Prime Minister reminded everyone to adhere to the SOP to ensure that the pandemic situation is under control. He added that the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 432) under the Ministry of Health is still in force and those who violate the SOP will be fined.

Ismail Sabri said the freedom to travel interstate is meant for fully vaccinated individuals. Although there are no roadblocks at interstate borders, he said the police will still conduct random patrols and checks at premises. Individuals who are not feeling well are urged to defer their travel plans and it is also recommended to conduct a COVID-19 self-test.

Ismail Sabri said the COVID-19 self-tests are not mandatory but it should be everyone’s responsibility to ensure that family members and the elderly are safe. The self-test kits which use saliva or nasal swabs are currently capped with a ceiling price of RM19.90. The government is still in talks to reduce the price further.

For those who are planning to travel overseas even for leisure purposes, fully vaccinated Malaysians are exempted from applying for the MyTravelPass before leaving the country. Returning Malaysians are still required to undergo mandatory quarantine. However, self-quarantine at home is allowed for fully vaccinated individuals. Malaysia’s international borders are still closed for international tourists.

As announced by AirAsia recently, the low-cost carrier has imposed a fully vaccinated-only rule for all of their flights. Partially or non-vaccinated children under 18 years old are still allowed to fly provided they are accompanied by a fully vaccinated parent or guardian.

If your travel arrangements require proof of vaccination, MySejahtera now allows users to generate a PDF copy of their COVID-19 vaccine certificate. Users can also print out the certificate which has QR codes that can be verified by an app to prevent fraud.

Malaysia has been showing a downward trend when it comes to new COVID-19 cases, hospitalisations and deaths. The country has recorded less than 10,000 new COVID-19 cases daily in the past week while the positivity rate for COVID-19 tests has declined from 15% in mid-September to 7.4% on 6th October.

Health Director-General Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah tweeted although our adult vaccination rate has hit 90%, this is not an excuse for us to take COVID-19 SOP for granted. He reminded everyone to comply with all precautionary measures including self testing and to stay vigilant at all times.

[ SOURCE, IMAGE SOURCE ]