KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 2 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob has announced that Melaka will enter Phase Two of the National Recovery Plan (NRP), while Negri Sembilan will proceed to Phase Three on September 4.

This leaves Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Putrajaya and Kedah as the only states and federal territories in Phase One.

In the same statement this evening, he also said that the government’s special committee to address Covid-19 has given the go-ahead for Langkawi to be the first tourist destination in the country to reopen as part of a travel bubble pilot project from September 16.

Other destinations will be allowed to operate in a similar capacity once they hit an 80 per cent vaccination rate, he added.

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“We are pleased to announce that the meeting agreed to reopen the tourism sector in several destinations as part of the ‘travel bubble’ programme based on the conditions set.

“For a start, Langkawi Island has been selected as a pilot project that will reopen to local tourists on September 16.

“Other tourist destinations will be allowed to operate when the locality vaccination rate reaches 80 per cent,” he said.

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He also mentioned that representatives from the Opposition bloc will be part of the committee, which is to be known as the Pandemic Management Special Committee from now on.

“This special committee will involve representatives from Opposition parties. This approach is one of the collective efforts to involve all stakeholders to ensure that the country’s recovery goes according to plan, in line with the spirit of Keluarga Malaysia (Malaysian Family),” he added.

Ismail Sabri also said he believes that Malaysia is on the right track after recording a national infectivity rate of below Rt 1.0 for the first time in months.

He reiterated that the country is expected to achieve a vaccination rate of 80 per cent by the end of this month and herd immunity by the end of October.

“I believe the 100 per cent vaccination rate will be achieved by the end of October 2021; thus, providing protection to Keluarga Malaysia,” he said.

According to the latest data reported by Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force (CITF), 61 per cent of the total population has received at least one dose of the vaccine and 46.7 per cent has received two doses.