Major US cities lift Covid-19 restrictions, Malaysia lifts quarantine on tourists

The lifting of restrictions comes amid a “significant decline” in daily new cases and hospitalizations, as well as a rise in vaccination rates, according to Boston Health Commissioner Dr. Bisola Ojikutu.Covid-19was at a high level.

“All of our key indicators are moving in the right direction. Mask requirements will also be lifted in many buildings in the city, except for vulnerable areas. We still encourage people to wear masks in high-risk areas or when around infected people,” Ojikutu said on March 5, according to the AP.

Previously, New York City and Los Angeles officials on March 4 also announced the lifting of epidemic prevention restrictions such as requiring students to wear masks in school, or people needing to present documents proving they have been vaccinated when going to restaurants, entertainment centers or cultural venues.

“It’s a time to celebrate, a time when New York City needs to get back on its feet and we’re not going to let this define us. We’re far from out of the woods, Covid-19 is still here. But we’re still fighting back,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

“I am confident that it will be safe for children and teachers to return to school from March 7 without masks, and for shop owners to not require customers to show proof of vaccination,” Adams added.

Malaysia lifts quarantine for fully vaccinated tourists

Malaysian Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong said on March 5 that passengers from Thailand and Cambodia who have received full doses of Covid-19 vaccines will be allowed to enter the country without being required to undergo quarantine.

“New vaccine travel corridors (VTLs) involving Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia will come into effect from March 15, as part of the joint efforts to open international borders. These are expected to help economies recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, especially in reviving the ailing tourism sector,” Wee Ka Siong told The Star.

According to Minister Wee Ka Siong, VTL between Thailand and Malaysia is expected to increase the frequency of flights on the Kuala Lumpur-Phuket and Kuala Lumpur-Bangkok routes to 4 and 6 flights per day, respectively. Meanwhile, the Kuala Lumpur-Phnom Penh route will have 2 flights per day.

“The Malaysian government will continue to discuss with other countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on the reopening of additional routes in the future,” Mr Wee added.

Some other developments about the epidemic

Updated at 5am on March 6 by the global statistics site Worldometers, the Covid-19 epidemic is raging in 220 countries and territories, infecting more than 445.1 million people and claiming the lives of more than 6 million patients. The number of recoveries reached more than 377.9 million cases.