Malaysia will fully reopen its borders on April 1 and will allow travellers who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 to enter without having to go through quarantine, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced on Tuesday.
Since March 2020, Malaysia has maintained some of the strictest immigration restrictions in Asia in an effort to limit coronavirus epidemics, with the vast majority of foreign nationals barred from entering and returning Malaysians needing to undergo quarantine upon their return.
Ismail Sabri, the country’s health minister, announced in a televised address that the country will begin a transition to the endemic phase of COVID-19 from next month.
Thailand, Cambodia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Indonesia have all taken similar efforts to reopen their borders, with quarantine lifted for vaccinated travellers who have negative COVID-19 testing before departure and after arrival.
Malaysian nationals who have been barred from leaving the country for more than a year will be able to resume full international travel, according to Ismail Sabri, who also stated that travel agreements with other countries, including Brunei, Thailand, and Indonesia, were in the works in addition to the agreement with Singapore, which was announced earlier this year.
He also stated that limits on business hours, gatherings, social distance, and interstate travel will be relaxed.
