The Malaysian Insight

PUTRAJAYA will monitor the Covid-19 situation until August 31 before deciding to ease border controls, said Health Director-General Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

Malaysian citizens and permanent residents have been barred from overseas travel since March 18, while those abroad were allowed to return, but screened and quarantined for 14 days.

Foreigners were allowed to leave Malaysia but not allowed to enter.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced over the weekend that  interstate travel be allowed from June 10 under the recovery movement control order (RMCO).

“We are considering this period as a soft landing and we are monitoring the situation and making sure Covid-19 is under control,” Noor Hisham told a press conference in Putrajaya today.

“We are looking into the infectivity rates and allowing all sectors to open… If each and every one adheres to the SOP (standard operating procedure) that we mention every day, we can break the chain of Covid-19 infections in this country without a vaccine,” he said, pointing to New Zealand which recently reported to have no active Covid-19 cases.

“If we can comply, we can bring down the cases to single digits, maintain the single-digit (figures) and perhaps aim for zero cases, which can be done if we work together as a team.”

During the MCO, domestic air travel was restricted only from airports within Peninsular Malaysia or Sabah or Sarawak. Travel from Kuala Lumpur to Sabah and Sarawak were allowed only for those returning to their home states. – June 9, 2020.