Malaysia has lifted all measures, including visa restrictions, put in place to curb the spread of Severe Acute Respiratory syndrome (Sars), officials said today.

"The situation, as far as visa requirements go, will now be back to normal effective Tuesday," immigration department spokesperson Ahmad Shukri told AFP .

Travellers to Malaysia from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Toronto, Canada would no longer need to obtain a health certificate, a requirement imposed during the height of the Sars outbreak, he said.

All screening measures at entry points have ended and travellers will not need to fill in health declaration forms, Health Minister Chua Jui Meng was quoted as saying by The Star .

Tourism industry

The World Health Organisation declared at the weekend that the Sars outbreak, which killed more than 800 people, had been contained worldwide.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) said outbound travel from Malaysia fell 50-70 percent for the period March to May due to Sars .

However, travel had now picked up and bookings for July and August were encouraging, Matta president Iskandar Abdullah was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times .

Malaysia recorded only five probable Sars cases but its tourism industry was devastated by fears over the outbreak in the region.

Tourist arrivals in the country in the five months to May were down 27.4 percent compared to the same period last year. Arrivals in the month of May alone fell 58.6 percent from 1.15 million visitors recorded in the same month in 2002. - AFP