Omicron variant: Putrajaya pauses shift to endemic phase
Putrajaya has decided to hit pause on the shift to an endemic phase for Covid-19 in the country due to the discovery of the new variant Omicron, said Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein.
“For the time being, we have decided to pause our efforts in transitioning to the endemic phase until we learn more about the Omicron variant of concern (VOC).
“We are not postponing it, we are only pausing it for a while because we want to...
Putrajaya has decided to hit pause on the shift to an endemic phase for Covid-19 in the country due to the discovery of the new variant Omicron, said Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein.
“For the time being, we have decided to pause our efforts in transitioning to the endemic phase until we learn more about the Omicron variant of concern (VOC).
“We are not postponing it, we are only pausing it for a while because we want to learn more about how the new variant Omicron spreads throughout the world,” he said in a press conference in Parliament today.
He said this decision was made in the senior ministers’ meeting earlier today.
The concern, he said, is that everything the government planned for the shift to the endemic phase, including loosening SOP restrictions, will be affected by the new Omicron variant.
That is why it is important to learn more about Omicron first before any further decisions are made, he said, adding that the situation in other countries regarding the Omicron variant is being constantly monitored.
However, Hishammuddin said the international tourism bubble pilot project in Langkawi will not be affected.
He said he met with Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong and representatives from the Tourism, Arts, and Culture Ministry (Motac) today to discuss other potential tourism bubbles after Langkawi’s success.
“If there is nothing stopping us from opening new tourism bubbles, I think it is for Motac to propose in the special meeting chaired by the prime minister,” he said.
Hishammuddin also commented on the government’s recent travel ban to and from South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, and Zimbabwe due to the Omicron variant.
He believes the seven African nations understand that Malaysia made this decision based on health concerns, and was not affected by geopolitics or bilateral relations.
“It is based on safety risks… it is not like we want to damage what we have been doing for the past one and a half years with irresponsible actions,” he said.
