KOTA KINABALU: Sabah is opening its borders to international visitors starting with those from Brunei Darussalam.
Local Government and Housing Minister Masidi Manjun said the state decided to allow tourists from the neighbouring country, either by land or air, as the nation has been free from Covid-19 for the last seven months or so.
He added Brunei is also not on the list of 23 countries considered as high-risk Covid-19 nations.
“The reason why we are allowing visitors from Brunei is simply because they have not had any new cases or infections for the last 215 days,” he said during his Covid-19 briefing today.
“It is practically a green country, so we feel the threat is not there or that it’s manageable.”
Masidi said visitors must take Covid-19 swab tests three days before travelling, which is the same requirement for domestic visitors intending to enter the state.
“For other countries, we will consider from time to time on a case-by-case basis.
“The point is we are opening up cautiously, knowing a mistake would put us back where we were before the situation was put under control,” he said.
The 23 countries whose citizens are not allowed to enter the country are India, Indonesia, the Philippines, the United States, Brazil, Russia, Peru, Colombia, South Africa, Mexico, Spain, Argentina, Chile, Iran, United Kingdom, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, France, Turkey, Italy, Germany and Iraq.