Yup, your eyes aren’t playing tricks on you.
Like most Singaporeans, if you’ve spent the past two years dreaming about when’s the next chance that you’ll get to cross the borders into shopping haven, this news will definitely be music to your ears.
Malaysian Borders to Open Completely by March
According to Malaysia’s National Recovery Council (NRC)’s chairman Muhyiddin Yassin, the council has agreed to open its borders and allow visitors from all countries to enter without the need to quarantine themselves.
As of now apart from the quarantine-free Vaccinated Travel Lanes (VTL) that Malaysia currently has with Singapore via both air and land, foreigners can only enter Malaysia based on a case-by-case basis. Events that allow foreigners to enter the country include emergencies and official business matters.
Additionally, there is a mandatory five, seven or 10-day quarantine period for travellers, depending on their vaccination status.
The borders will be opening as early as March, so start planning your trips now!
However, do note that you will still have to undergo COVID-19 tests both before departure and upon arrival at the border, according to the Ministry of Health’s (MOH) recommendations.
More details will be released by the NRC at a later date.
How Reopening the Borders Will Benefit Malaysia
It’s no secret that the economy has been suffering due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the NRC hopes that reopening borders will help with some of the damage.
“This means tourists can visit, investors can come in. The number of tourists will increase, and the tourism industry can recover,” Mr Muhyiddin explained, emphasising how an increase in tourism will help various industries.
“The aviation industry can recover… shops that depend on tourists will have increased business. We believe this decision is a good one but at the same time we have to make sure that the SOPs are adhered to,” he added.
Malaysia’s COVID-19 Situation
As mentioned earlier, Singapore and Malaysia currently have VTLs for those travelling to Kuala Lumpur Airport or across the causeway. In addition to that, Malaysia also has a VTL with Langkawi.
However, new VTL ticket sales between Singapore and Malaysia were halted from 23 December to 20 January this year due to the spread of the Omicron variant.
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Malaysia has had more than 2.9 million COVID-19 cases and 32,043 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
Additionally, the cases crossed the 11,000-mark for the first time since 1 October last year, with 11,034 cases reported in Malaysia yesterday (7 February).
With the Omicron wave expected to reach its highest in the later half of March, Malaysian Health Minister mentioned yesterday that the current rise in cases was expected due to the increased contagious nature of the Omicron variant.
On the other hand, as for Malaysia’s vaccinated rates, it should come as a relief that approximately 98% of Malaysian adults have been fully vaccinated, and more than 53% of adults have taken their booster shots as well.
Similar to us, Malaysia has also started vaccinating children now, with the programme for children from five to 11 years old beginning last week.
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Featured Image: Patrick Foto / Shutterstock.com
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