News on relaxing the SOPs for fully-vaccinated persons was already in the air before Hari Raya Aidiladha and was expected to be announced after the celebration. Currently, the government is still deliberating the matter, thoroughly reviewing the exemptions before making a final call.
Naturally, the public is eagerly awaiting this big update, especially those in Johor and Singapore. There are people on both sides who are hoping that both nations ease restrictions so they can reunite with their families.
However, there’s rising concern over vaccine recognition issues. Malaysia is vaccinating residents with Pfizer, Sinovac, and the AstraZeneca vaccine, while Singapore is inoculating theirs with Pfizer, Moderna, and Sinovac. Malaysia and Singapore have been called to address this issue and also work towards easing restrictions for those who are fully vaccinated.
Meanwhile, the Philippines is mulling over a Malaysia travel ban but not until it shows a “threat” similar to that of Indonesia (where prevalence of the Delta variant has reached 97%).
In other parts of the world, the highly-contagious Delta variant isn’t a cause for concern for the travel industry, as they believe that most travellers have been vaccinated against COVID-19. However, travel may not be straightforward for those with mixed vaccine doses as many countries aren’t accepting a mixed vaccination record.
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