Izah Azahari & Azlan Othman
The Early Endemic Phase under the National COVID-19 Recovery Plan Framework was extended for another two weeks to March 31 amid the rise in COVID-19 infections.
This was announced by Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Finance and Economy II Dato Seri Setia Dr Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew bin Abdullah at a press conference yesterday.
The minister added that the movement restriction from midnight to 4am was also extended to March 31.
Dato Seri Setia Dr Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew said the government will continue to monitor the spread of COVID-19 and carry out appropriate efforts to ensure the well-being of Brunei residents.
The minister reminded the public to continue abiding by the standard operating procedures (SOPs) and health protocols such as maintaining social distance, sticking to capacity limit, wear face masks, maintaining cleanliness and using BruHealth app. He also encouraged the use of antigen rapid test (ART) before entering premises.
Meanwhile, the decision to open the Sultanate’s borders has not been reached.
Dato Seri Setia Dr Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew said this in response to recent media reports that Malaysian Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Ismail Sabri bin Yaakob announcing that the country’s borders will be opened on April 1.
The prime minister said the re-opening is in-line with plans to transition to the Endemic Phase as well as reviving the national economy especially the tourism industry which was hit by the pandemic, adding that Malaysians with valid passports can travel to any countries that have also re-opened their borders. Foreign travellers can also enter Malaysia without applying for MyTravelPass which was repealed recently.
