KUALA LUMPUR: The government has maintained that social and economic sectors, including dine-ins at eateries in states under all phases of the National Recovery Plan (NRP), are only allowed for fully vaccinated individuals.
Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said this decision was made to ensure people's safety, strengthen the country's public health system, speed up the reopening of the country's economy, and ensure that the government's effort to transition into the endemic phase is done safely.
"We are not safe until everyone is safe. Based on the latest developments in the states' NRP phase transition and taking into account the dominance of the Delta variant (94.9 per cent) in the country, the cabinet meeting today has agreed that each privilege previously announced is implemented on the condition that full vaccination applies for all phases of the NRP.
"For individuals who cannot be vaccinated due to health factors, they must provide health information that has been verified by a medical officer.
"Details on the standard operating procedure (SOP) of the NRP will be announced by the National Security Council in the near future," he said in a statement today.
Khairy said the government, on June 15, had announced the NRP as a strategy to reopen social and economic activities safely and as an organised and systematic exit strategy from the Covid-19 pandemic in phases.
The plan, he added, was a carefully crafted guideline based on data and science to enable us to return back to normalcy.
He said the three main aspects in managing the pandemic were public health and safety; balancing the people's economy and business sustainability; and the people's wellbeing in the context of social norms, including their mental and emotional health.
"As I have repeatedly stated and emphasised, the reopening of social and economic sectors in the country must be done carefully and safely.
"The success of bringing the country out of this pandemic does not only depend on the efforts and strategies of the government, but also very much depends on the community's compliance levels to the set SOP.
"If the society takes lightly the leniency given, it is not impossible for the infections to worsen."
He said it was for that reason that focus must also be given to community education or empowerment, ensuring that the whole community understood their role in bringing the country out of this pandemic.
"You are now at the forefront of protecting families and communities from Covid-19.
"The first line of defence against Covid-19 begins with yourself. The moment you experience symptoms, get tested and if you're positive, isolate," he added.
Earlier, Khairy on his Twitter handle @khairykj had clarified that the condition requiring complete vaccination for dine-ins in all phases of the NRP would remain.
He said the SOP issued by the NSC today which allowed dine-ins for unvaccinated individuals in states under Phase Three of the NRP was "not updated".