Briefing To Decide Date For Malaysia's Transition To Endemic Phase Next Week - Minister

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 17 (Bernama) -- A briefing to decide the actual date for Malaysia’s transition to the endemic phase will be held next week during the COVID-19 quartet ministerial meeting. Senior Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said the briefing will be given by the Ministry of Health (MOH), Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and other relevant agencies. “We postponed the transition before because we want to hear the reports on the effects of floods, as well as the situation involving COVID-19 Omicron variant and travellers returning to Malaysia especially from Saudi Arabia first. “So, at the Quarter Ministerial Meeting next week, we will hear the briefing from the MOH, MOFA and other agencies on this aspects so that we can present it to the special committee chaired by the Prime Minister (Ismail Sabri Yaakob) before the actual date for the transition to the endemic phase can be decided,” he told a press conference here. He said the decision on the transition to the endemic phase will not be done in haste and the postponement of the transition may take two to three weeks from the original date, which is in the first week of January. Prior to this, Hishammuddin reportedly said that the government had decided to temporarily postpone the declaration of the transition following the increase in the Omicron variant cases in the country. -- BERNAMA