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KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian government has approved a national travel bubble program involving green areas, Chief Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said in announcing that the conditional movement control order (CMCO) will be lifted in four states.
In his press conference on Friday (November 20), the minister said that the National Security Council (NSC) has decided to terminate the CMCO in Johor, Kedah, Melaka and Terengganu, with the exception of some districts.
This followed a downward trend in new registered COVID-19 cases and risk assessments by the Health Ministry, he said.
“Since November 5, a total of 82 positive cases have been recorded across the state of Johor. But as of November 16, there is a decrease in active cases and Johor is under control in terms of the spread of COVID-19. cases.
“Except for the Kota Tinggi and Mersing districts, which have 36 and eight active cases respectively,” Ismail Sabri explained.
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Malaysia had previously entered the RMCO phase on June 10, and most economic activities were allowed to resume.
CMCO was reinstated in all but four states in mid-October after a dramatic spike in COVID-19 cases. The four states were Kelantan, Perlis, Pahang, and Sarawak.
Under this second CMCO, travel between states and between districts within states is restricted to reduce movement of the general public. Social activities are also discouraged.
However, Mr. Ismail Sabri announced on Friday that Kelantan would be placed under CMCO from Saturday after a wave of cases.
“All of Kelantan will be under CMCO for two weeks from November 21 to December 6,” he said.
Mr. Ismail Sabri, who is Minister of Defense, also announced that the government approved the “green travel bubble program” to revive domestic tourism.
Under the program, people in green areas can travel to other areas marked in green from Sunday.
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Police permission is not required for interdistrict travel within green states and interstate travel from a green state to a neighboring green state.
However, those who have to go through states under CMCO to reach another green zone would need a police permit, the minister said.
A green zone is an area with no new cases of COVID-19 within two weeks.
The CMCO will be in effect until December 6, while the RMCO was previously extended until December 31.
On Wednesday, Malaysian King Al-Sutan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah agreed to declare a state of emergency in the Batu Sapi parliamentary constituency in Sabah to postpone the upcoming by-elections, which were originally scheduled for December 5.
As of Friday, Malaysia recorded 52,638 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 329 deaths.
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