‘Travel bans rescinded’

PETALING JAYA: The interstate and inter-district travel bans have been rescinded, regardless of whether an area is still under the conditional movement control order (MCO) or not, says Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

He said the decision was made due to the need to balance public health and economic stability.

“Life must go on. So several restrictions have been relaxed after the National Security Council meeting where all parties, including the Health Ministry, discussed the issue.

“Among the matters agreed on is that interstate and inter-district travel across the country will now be allowed except for areas under an enhanced MCO.

“Police permission is no longer required, ” he said.

He added that from tomorrow, the police would stop having roadblocks at state borders.

The focus will now be on adherence to the standard operating procedure (SOP), Ismail Sabri said.

“What’s important is that the public must follow the SOP. This is one of the ways to reduce Covid-19 infections.

“The police will be everywhere now to ensure compliance, ” he said.

On tourism, Ismail Sabri said a meeting would be held with the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry to identify what would be permitted to open and what should remain closed.

He also noted that travel to Sabah would now be allowed for social visits.

However, all entering Sabah must undergo the RT-PCR (reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) or RTK Antigen (Rapid Test Kit Antigen) Covid-19 swabs three days before travelling.

“Only those without symptoms and who test negative for Covid-19 will be allowed into Sabah.

“Police permission to leave Sabah and inter-district travel is no longer required, ” he added.

Ismail Sabri also said there would be no passenger limit imposed on vehicles and it will now be according to each vehicle’s capacity.