THE Health Ministry (MOH) has been given two to three weeks to present proposals and standard operating procedures for the full reopening of the country’s borders to the cabinet.

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said a decision on whether to reopen the borders must be carefully looked into as the government has received a lot of feedback on the matter, especially concerning health guidelines due to Covid-19 transmission concerns.

“We would like to open up the economy, especially since tourism income is huge and will help the country.

“But at the same time, we need to protect the people… so, a balance is what the ministry seeks.

“MOH has been given two to three weeks to present (its proposals) for the cabinet to decide… whether to fully reopen the borders or restrict them to selected countries.”

Ismail Sabri was responding to National Recovery Council chairman Muhyiddin Yassin’s statement yesterday on the importance of reopening the country’s borders on March 1.

Muhyiddin announced that the council has agreed to proposals for the full reopening of the country’s borders as early as March 1, without the need for quarantine.

However, he added, the move has to be implemented based on current risk assessment and with careful planning. – Bernama, February 18, 2022.