Malaysia could move towards Phase 2 of NRP by early August, says Ismail Sabri

PETALING JAYA: The whole country will be able to move to Phase Two of the National Recovery Plan (NRP) by early August if the country continues to see positive progress in its vaccination rates, says Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

This is one of the three thresholds required to progress to Phase Two.

Ismail Sabri said more than 10% of the population have already been fully inoculated under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK).

“These developments give the impression that the country is on the right track in an effort to achieve herd immunity.

“This indicator is in line with the planning of the NRP, which expects the vaccination rate to reach 10% population by the end of July.

“If these positive developments continue, the whole country will be able to move to Phase Two in early August, such as how Perlis, Perak, Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Penang, Sabah and Sarawak have done after surpassing the three thresholds under the NRP,” he said in a statement on Wednesday (July 14).

Malaysia will reopen in four phases based on three main thresholds: the number of daily Covid-19 cases, the number of fully vaccinated people, and the state of the healthcare system.

States such as Selangor and Kuala Lumpur are still experiencing a high number of Covid-19 cases amid massive pressure on healthcare systems.