Sarawak Perlis And Labuan To Enter Phase 3 Of Nrp As Goalpost Shifts

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Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin today announced that Sarawak, Perlis and Labuan will move into Phase 3 of the National Recovery Plan (NRP).
This was despite Sarawak and Labuan not qualifying for Phase 3 based on the initial criteria which the government set in early July.
Muhyiddin did not reveal the new criteria that allowed the states and federal territory to move into Phase 3.
"Alhamdulillah, I'm happy to announce that three states have shown very good performance and will move into Phase 3 of the NRP. They are Perlis, Sarawak and Labuan, effective Aug 4," he said in a statement on Facebook.
According to the initial criteria set by the government, the seven-day average of daily new Covid-19 cases for Sarawak must be 345 to enter Phase 2, 172 for Phase 3 and 43 for Phase 4.
As of today, the seven-day average of new daily Covid-19 cases is 482.
Sarawak moved into Phase 2 on July 14. At the time, it met the criteria for Phase 2 but had since regressed.
A more advanced phase provides for more easing of restrictions against Covid-19.
Meanwhile, the seven-day average for Labuan and Perlis are 12 and 11 cases respectively.
The government's initial criteria for Labuan to move into Phase 2 is a seven-day average of 12 cases, six for Phase 3 and two for Phase 4.
As for Perlis, the criteria include a seven-day average of 31 cases for Phase 2, 16 for Phase 3 and four for Phase 4.
Based on these criteria, only Perlis qualifies for Phase 3.

The government previously targeted for the country to move into Phase 3 in September or October, which will see all manufacturing sectors, as well as a majority of economic sectors, resume operations.

Based on the original plan, Phase 3 will also allow industries with fully vaccinated staff to operate at full capacity while educational, sporting and some social activities will be permitted too.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin
Muhyiddin said the decision was made following a presentation by Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz.
Zafrul had said the NRP was "dynamic" and the criteria for Phase 3 could change.
He had also said states that have moved into a more advanced phase won't be downgraded to a previous one.
Muhyiddin, who chaired the National Security Council meeting today, also said they deliberated about easing Covid-19 restrictions for fully vaccinated individuals.
"God-willing, I will announce the benefits in the near future," he added.
He stressed that the government's strategy against the Covid-19 pandemic is to ensure that as many people as possible will be vaccinated. - Mkini

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