The Sabah state government has announced that it will be allowing interstate travels on 1 November as well as green-lighting inter-district travels within the state starting from 14 October.
The new SOPs will allow travelling across Sabah districts but only for adults who are fully vaccinated. Teens between 12 to 17 must have had at least one dose to qualify and as for children under 12, they must be accompanied by vaccinated parents.
The state’s border reopening also comes with a few conditions. Namely, they must fulfil the same vaccination criteria as the ones for inter-district travel, as well as being required to take an RTK or PCR test within three days before departing for Sabah.
The federal government lifted the nationwide ban on interstate travel this week after achieving an average of 90% adult vaccination rate. However, Sabah did not follow suit as the state cabinet had to consider the fact that the state has the lowest vaccination rate in the country, which currently stands at only 66% for fully vaccinated adults.
Currently, only five zones in Sabah allow inter-district travel as seven districts failed to meet the 60% threshold for adult vaccination coverage by 1 October. This meant that the zones were isolated from the rest of the state, with no individuals allowed in and out of those areas.
(Source: Masidi Manjun / Twitter, The Star. Images: Leonid Altman / Pexels, MINDEF / Twitter.)
