PETALING JAYA: Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Perak and Perlis will all move into Phase Two of the national recovery plan from Monday.
In a joint press conference, senior minister for security Ismail Sabri Yaakob and finance minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz said this was to reward the states that had been successful in meeting the necessary benchmarks in bringing down the number of Covid-19 cases.
Previously listed criteria will now be assessed at the state level, they said today.
In regards to daily infections, Tengku Zafrul said that instead of the 4,000-case national benchmark that was initially set as a Phase Two indicator, this would be changed to assess the average number of cases per 100,000 recorded in a state over seven days.
Thresholds measuring the capacity of ICU beds and the rate of full vaccinations will remain the same, but each state will be assessed individually.
“We should reward those who have been able to meet the threshold, and continue to motivate the other states towards achieving the targets,” Tengku Zafrul said.
However, he added that any state can be moved back into a more restrictive phase should their case numbers in ICU capacity worsen.
Meanwhile, Ismail said this system was more fair to the states that had been able to meet the necessary targets, and would not force them to be held back by areas like the Klang Valley that are recording a high number of daily infections.
SOPs for these five states will be in line with earlier announcements he said, including allowing more economic sectors to reopen.
“Among the sectors that are allowed to operate under Phase Two are book and stationery shops, those dealing in telecommunications, car wash services and barbershops.
“In terms of movement, (crossing) districts and states is still prohibited unless flexibility is given to school teachers and university students who have to attend examination classes,” he said.
More information about the SOPs for Phase Two and Three of the national recovery plan can be found here.
Ismail also clarified a number of SOPs, including those governing the courts and vaccinations.
He said that criminal cases would be allowed to proceed during Phase One to avoid a backlog of cases and detainees accumulating in places of detention, with civil cases able to resume in court under Phase Two.
For those living in Selangor, he said that those with dependents were allowed to cross state borders for the purpose of transporting them to a vaccination centre.
He also promised there would be volunteers who would assist the elderly and those with disabilities to get their jabs.
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