VTL scheme with S'pore temporarily suspended
Malaysia has temporarily suspended sales of tickets for air and land travel under a Vaccinated Travel Lanes (VTL) scheme with Singapore until Jan 20, the Health Ministry said, amid concerns over the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant.
The action implemented yesterday followed a similar move by Singapore to freeze all new ticket sales over the same period...
Malaysia has temporarily suspended sales of tickets for air and land travel under a Vaccinated Travel Lanes (VTL) scheme with Singapore until Jan 20, the Health Ministry said, amid concerns over the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant.
The action implemented yesterday followed a similar move by Singapore to freeze all new ticket sales over the same period.
Under the vaccinated travel lane programme, both countries allow quarantine-free entry for fully vaccinated travellers, who have to do multiple screenings.
Malaysia has temporarily banned the entry of travellers from countries that have reported the Omicron Covid-19 variant or are considered high-risk, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said today.
Malaysia joins countries around the world that have limited travel from southern Africa, where the variant, believed to be the most contagious yet, was first detected.
The travel ban applies to eight African countries, including South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi, but could be extended to other nations where the variant has been detected, such as Britain and the Netherlands, Khairy said.
Malaysia will also delay plans to set up the VTL with the affected countries and reimpose quarantine requirements for Malaysian citizens and long-term residents returning from those nations, regardless of their vaccination status.
"These are just temporary measures until we find out more about the Omicron variant," Khairy said.
"The moment we believe it is safe, we will lift these measures."
Malaysia, which has reported more than 2.6 million coronavirus cases, has gradually reopened its borders to travellers in recent weeks as infections have slowed amid a high vaccination rate.
Earlier this week, Malaysia and Singapore launched the two-way joint VTL, reopening their borders after nearly two years during the pandemic.
- Reuters
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