PUTRAJAYA, December 22 – On 29 November 2021, Malaysia and Singapore agreed to embark on the “Vaccinated Travel Lane” (VTL) initiative by air and land. It is generally known that VTL facilities are limited to travelers who have received a full dose of COVID-19 vaccine. Through this facility, travelers do not have to undergo a mandatory quarantine period upon arrival at the destination-yet are still subject to the requirement to undergo a COVID-19 detection test prior to departure and upon arrival.
Subsequently, on 7 December 2021, the Ministry of Health Malaysia (MOH) announced strengthening actions to the existing prevention and control measures for travelers from abroad, including travelers arriving at Malaysia’s international gateways through the VTL initiative. The stated strengthening actions are as follows:
• RTK-Ag test or rapid antigen test (self) on the 2nd, 4th, and 6th day after arrival;
• RTK-Ag test or rapid antigen test (professional) on the 3rd and 5th day after arrival.
On 20 December 2021, the Singapore Ministry of Health issued a media statement regarding the incident of a local COVID-19 cluster involving three (3) positive cases. The results of further tests conducted found that two (2) of them showed possible Omicron variants, while results for other cases are still pending. All three cases have no history of travel abroad. Taking into account the latest developments reported by Singapore, MOH would like to announce the temporary suspension of bus and flight ticket sales for both VTL initiatives between Malaysia-Singapore (ie by air and land), effective for the period 23 December 2021 to 20 January 2022.
For travelers who already have a travel ticket for land and air VTL and meet the conditions set, they can continue traveling under this VTL initiative. Sales of bus and flight tickets for these two VTL initiatives will reopen starting January 21, 2022 after a risk assessment is made based on the current COVID-19 situation in both countries. However, the quota of tickets sold will be reduced from the existing quota.
Further information on the latest instructions for the temporary suspension of bus and flight ticket sales for the Malaysia-Singapore air and land VTL initiative can be referred to the Ministry of Transport Malaysia (VTL Air) and the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (VTL Land). The Ministry of Health Malaysia would like to advise all travelers to be responsible and always abide by the instructions and SOPs that have been set. Perform regular COVID-19 self-detecting tests to find out your own risk status and in turn be able to reduce the risk of infection to other individuals.
