Malaysia Airlines is planning to introduce a Digital Travel Health Pass to certify that a traveller has been vaccinated against COVID-19 and is able to travel between countries.
"This digital identification will pave the way for Malaysia Airlines' passengers to eventually take advantage of contactless technology options throughout the travel processes.
"Passengers can easily make appointments with certified medical partners to carry out a COVID-19 RT-PCR test or include their COVID-19 vaccination certificate on their mobie phones, making the process of travel requirements more straightforward," Bernama quoted the national carrier saying in a statement last night.
If a traveller is cleared for flying, the health pass will share an "OK to travel" status of passengers with the relevant authorities. Vaccinated travellers will also be able to skip the mandatory COVID-19 quarantine, reported The Edge.
According to Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) CEO Izham Ismail, the pass would instil confidence in passengers and give access to an easy-t0-navigate way to prepare for their upcoming travels.
Details of the travel health pass are still being ironed out with the relevant authorities, before the particulars are released to the public.
Earlier this week, Health Minister Dr Adham Baba said that the government is planning to issue COVID-19 passports as verification for individuals who have been vaccinated against COVID-19.
The verification could be in two ways - either displayed in the MySejahtera application or maintained as a physical form that can be accepted by other countries.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, and Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah became among the first recipients of the COVID-19 vaccine by Pfizer-BioNTech, as the country kicked off the national immunization program.
The program is expected to take place in three phases - beginning with medical and non-medical frontliners receiving their jabs from February to April. The second phase from April until August will cover senior citizens aged over 65 years old and other high-risk groups while the final phase, from May until February next year, is targeted at the general adult population aged 18 and above.
Source: Bernama
Photo source: Astro Awani
Shuman
Thu Feb 25 2021