Malaysia To Enter Endemic Transition Phase On 1 April: Face Masks and MySejahtera Still Mandatory

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri has announced that Malaysia will move into a new stage called the “Endemic Transition Phase” starting from 1 April 2022. The phase is meant to be a temporary period before the country can move into the actual endemic stage which depends on the announcement from the World Health Organization (WHO).

Nevertheless, the majority of the main restrictions that have been imposed by the government as part of its COVID-19 measures will be removed from said date onwards. Among them are the restrictions on operational time for business premises as they will be able to return to their original operating hours according to the terms stipulated by their licenses.

In other words, your favourite mamak joint will be able to operate 24 hours once again. Religious activities at mosques, suraus and other houses of worship can also take place without social distancing.

That being said, the exact SOP for mosques and suraus still depends on state-level Islamic religious authorities while the Ministry of National Unity and Unit for Other Religions (UNIFOR) for houses of worship that belonged to other religions. Speaking about social distancing, the government still deemed it as important and highly encouraged it although the 50% limit for mass-participation activities and venue capacities will be eliminated on 1 April as well.

Meanwhile, Malaysia’s borders will be reopened once again without any quarantine directive for travellers that have already been fully vaccinated. However, travellers entering Malaysia are still required to take a PCR test two days before their departure date and a professionally-administered RTK test 24 hours after their arrival.

This applies to both Malaysians and foreign nationals. On a related note, everyone is now able to perform inter-state travel regardless of their vaccination status as well.

The only major SOPs that still remains intact is the mandatory usage of face masks in public places. The same goes for MySejahtera check-in with the exception of open areas that are not crowded or have mass gatherings while MYSJTrace is also mandatory for crowded indoor areas.

(Source: Prime Minister Office / Twitter, MKN / Telegram – pdf.)

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