IPOH, Sept 8 — Pulau Pangkor is not ready to receive tourists under Phase Two of the Tourism Recovery Plan of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture’s (MOTAC) COVID-19 Free Destination Programme as it has not yet achieved herd immunity.
State Housing, Local Government and Tourism Committee chairman Datuk Nolee Ashilin Mohammed Radzi said this was decided by Menteri Besar Datuk Saarani Mohamad at the Perak Tourism Action Council meeting yesterday.
She said the vaccination process for Pulau Pangkor residents was proceeding smoothly and had reached almost 100 per cent.
“However, Pulau Pangkor has yet to achieve herd immunity. We expect, at the latest, the vaccination target can be achieved by the end of September,” she said at a media conference in conjunction with the 2021 Ipoh Music Symposium that was held virtually today.
It was reported that to achieve herd immunity on Pulau Pangkor, at least 8,026 eligible residents would need to be vaccinated out of the total projected population of 11,500 on the resort island.
In July, Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Syukri said Phase Two of the Tourism Recovery Plan of MOTAC’s COVID-19 Free Destination Programme had been expanded to resort islands like Pulau Redang, Pulau Perhentian, Pulau Tioman, Pulau Pangkor and several other islands.
Meanwhile, Nolee Ashilin said the virtual symposium, organised by The Aman Jaya Arts Colony (PORT) would be held on Oct 2 with the theme “Music of the Archipelago: ‘Exploring Tradition and Contemporary” that combines several Malaysian and Indonesian artistes.
