ALOR SETAR: No positive Covid-19 cases have been reported involving tourists visiting Langkawi since the island was reopened under the travel bubble initiative on Sept 16.
“This is due to the successful implementation of standard operating procedures, including at the screening stage at KLIA, where five people had to delay their travel after testing positive for Covid-19,” said state tourism, arts and culture, youth and sports, entrepreneur development and cooperatives committee chairman Mohd Firdaus Ahmad.
“Those (who are positive) were detected at the screening stage; they had yet to reach Langkawi. This means that the SOP has been implemented well,” he said.
So far, cases had only involved locals on the island, he said when answering a supplementary question from Azhar Ibrahim (PAS-Ayer Hitam), who wanted to know about the impact of the implementation of the SOP on tourists in Langkawi, at the state assembly sitting yesterday.
Meanwhile, Mohd Firdaus said the state projected that 200,000 tourists would enter Langkawi by the end of this year.
He said the success of the travel bubble in Langkawi, which was a pioneer, showed a positive development when the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry announced that other tourism destinations would also be reopened from Oct 1.
He added that the reopening of the Kuala Kedah Jetty, which is one of the main routes to Langkawi, would also benefit the people of Kedah.
“As the jetty reopens tomorrow (today), we will see that the people in Kuala Kedah will also be able to enjoy the effects of the reopening of Langkawi,” he said. -BERNAMA -BH