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Coronavirus pandemic
Asia

Coronavirus: Malaysia mulls reopening border; Japan to lift state of emergency

  • Malaysian ministers are set to discuss whether to allow fully vaccinated Malaysians to travel abroad, and to allow tourists and business travellers to enter
  • Elsewhere, the US has raised its travel warning for Singapore and Hong Kong, while Japan’s state of emergency will end this week

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A secondary school student receives a dose of the Pfizer vaccine in Shah Alam, Malaysia. Photo: AP
Agencies

Malaysian authorities are considering reopening the country’s borders amid expectations a ban on interstate travel will ease next month, The Star reported, citing National Recovery Council chairman Muhyiddin Yassin.

Ministers this week will discuss whether to allow fully vaccinated Malaysians to travel abroad, and to allow tourists and business travellers into the country, said Muhyiddin after chairing a meeting with the council on Monday.

The matter would be brought to the prime minister and an announcement would be made soon, he added.

The council was informed by Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin that 90 per cent of the adult population would be inoculated as soon as early October, said Muhyiddin at the press conference. This would pave the way for interstate travel to resume by mid-October.

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As of Monday, 84.4 per cent of adults have been fully vaccinated. Malaysia added 10,959 infections that same day, the fewest in more than two months.

“The National Recovery Council is satisfied with the briefing on the Covid-19 case updates and rate of ICU bed utilisation by Khairy Jamaluddin which are showing a reduction,” wrote Muhyiddin on Facebook late on Monday.

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Japan to end state of emergency in days

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Tuesday said the government would this week end the Covid-19 state of emergency in Tokyo and 18 prefectures, as well as the quasi-state of emergency in other areas, as infections have declined from their peak.
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