KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia should be able to move from the Covid-19 pandemic into an endemic phase by the end of October.
Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said with 80 per cent of the population expected to be vaccinated by then, the country would need to learn to live with the virus.
He said it would take two more months to have 80 per cent of the population vaccinated.
"In the case of Labuan and to a lesser extent, Sarawak – they are already in an endemic phase. So I can say by then, we will reach a phase where we can start living with the virus.
"Right now, there are some states that are still in mitigation and containment mode," said Khairy in a press conference at the ministry in Putrajaya today.
Khairy said being in an endemic phase would see more economic and social sectors reopened with new Covid-19 norms being practiced by the people.
He also said the ministry would continue to make mask-wearing mandatory for the foreseeable future.
"We have seen how some countries had to make mask-wearing compulsory again, following the emergence of more contagious variants. So we will retain the mask mandate," he added.
Khairy said the success of high vaccination rate that led to lower hospital admissions could be seen with the results from the Operation Surge Capacity in the Klang Valley and states such as Negeri Sembilan, Labuan and Sarawak where 50 per cent of the population has been fully vaccinated.
He said Sungai Buloh Hospital saw a 53 per cent reduction in admission from early August, while Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital in Klang saw a 43 reduction in patients from early August.
Khairy also stressed on the effectiveness of all vaccines used in the Covid-19 National Immunisation Programme (NIP), especially in reducing the risk of complications related to the illnesses.
He said from July 16 to Aug 31 there were a total of 865,472 Covid-19 cases reported, with 2.1 per cent in Category 3 to 5.
"Out of this, 10.4 per cent were fully vaccinated. So we can see that the vaccines work even with the Delta variant."
He said even in Sarawak where cases were surging despite high vaccination rate, 99 per cent of the infections were in Category 1 and 2.
"The situation is still under control in terms of the hospital admissions and so on. This is just like in other advanced countries where vaccination and infection rates are high, but ICU admissions and deaths are lower."
Khairy said that the ministry would also look at ways to reduce the number of daily cases.
"What is most important in the endemic phase is that we start looking at the number of hospital admissions and ICU, and ensure that our public healthcare system is not burdened."