Malaysia’s administration has declared that the country would finally open its doors to foreign travelers on April 1.
This is the first time in two years that foreign visitors will be permitted to enter the country.
Arriving travelers who are fully vaccinated will not be required to go through quarantine in the Asian nation, but they must produce a negative PCR test result obtained no more than two days before departure.
Upon arrival in Malaysia, a quick antigen test must be performed within 24 hours of arriving.
Pre-departure travel forms will be necessary, however travelers will no longer be required to apply for a MyTravelPass permission prior to leaving the country.
When the nation reopened to travelers, the country’s flag airline, Malaysia Airlines, was “overjoyed.”
Mr. Daniel Bainbridge, the airline’s UK and Europe regional director, said: “We have been planning for this big milestone for a long time, and we have already enhanced our aircraft capacity to enable greater connections within Malaysia, as well as further to south-east Asia and Australasia.”
In the past six months, Malaysia has joined a growing number of other Asian countries that have reduced their entrance requirements for tourists.
As of February 10, Thailand is welcome vaccinated visitors through its Test and Go and Sandbox programs, while the Philippines has opened its doors to all travelers who have been completely immunized.
Bali started welcome its first international tourists this week, thanks to new, more flexible regulations that no longer need visitors to pass through quarantine if they match specific conditions.
France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom are among the 23 nations that participate in the quarantine-free trial period and Visa On Arrival (VOA) program. Ireland, however, is not one of those countries.
However, while some nations are loosening restrictions, others are coping with an increase in the number of people infected with Covid-19.
According to Reuters, a growing epidemic in Hong Kong resulted in the highest number of fatalities per million people anywhere in the world in the week ending March 6.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States issued a ‘Level Four’ travel notice for Hong Kong this week, recommending Americans to “avoid travel” to the region.
Also included in this category are New Zealand and Thailand, which brings the total number of countries in this category to more than half of all travel destinations on the planet, including Ireland.