PENANG is working towards having 40% of its adult population receive two doses of Covid-19 vaccine by early September this year.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said if about 9,000 doses could be administered per day (to those who have already received their first dose), Penang could achieve the target by late August or early September this year.
He said this in response to Northern Corridor Implementation Agency (NCIA) chief executive officer Datuk Seri Jebasingam Issace John’s statement on a proposed domestic tourism travel bubble for Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER) states.
Jebasingam said NCIA was working with the Tourism Ministry to consider the proposal.
“There is a good chance that we can make the proposed domestic tourism travel bubble for NCER states (Perlis, Kedah, Penang and Perak) a reality if Penang can achieve the 40% vaccination rate by September this year,” he said during the Penang Socio Economic Recovery Consultative Council (PSERCC) meeting today.
The two-and-a-half-hour hybrid meeting was successfully held to identify the state’s current economic issues and the challenges that hinder the state’s economic growth in the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) vice-president Khoo Boo Lim said the association did a short survey and 320 hotels took part.
“The hotel and tourism industries are going to be depending on domestic tourism for at least another year.
“Currently, those operating are running as Covid-19 quarantine centres and for essential workers.
“Currently, 63.13% of the hotel staff are on unpaid leave, while 34.69% of the hotels have reduced the benefits of their employees,” Khoo said.
He added that the hotels in Penang recorded an average occupancy rate of 18.93% from January to May this year.
Penang Tourism and Creative Economy Committee chairman Yeoh Soon Hin said the tourism sector is still in dire straits as compared to other sectors.
“The tourism sector contributed about 49% of the state’s gross domestic product (GDP) before the pandemic.
“The future of the tourism industry is susceptible to the pandemic and in general, vaccination is the key solution for tourism economic recovery.
“The vaccination for the tourism industry has to be accelerated. The service sector involves many people, including small traders,” he said.
The heads of the six working groups in the PSERCC also presented their progress reports during the meeting.
The six working groups are headed by Deputy Chief Minister II Prof Dr P. Ramasamy (labour market sector), state executive councillors Datuk Abdul Halim Hussain (industry/SMI/SME/retail sector), Jagdeep Singh Deo (housing sector), Zairil Khir Johari (infrastructure & transport sector), Yeoh Soon Hin (tourism sector) and Dr Norlela Ariffin (food industry sector).
Among the issues highlighted were the mass Covid-19 screening programme, the Penang Home Ownership Campaign (HOC), initiatives by Penang Halal International, fiberisation plans in the state, employments, and food security.
Chow said the Penang government would have to strive towards recovery.
“We must work to achieve the Phase Three requirements of the National Recovery Plan, and to ensure that we are not relegated to Phase One,” he said.
Chow added that the ongoing mass Covid-19 screening programme was necessary and in line with the state’s 3T (testing, tracing, treatment) approach.
Story by Christopher Tan
Pix by Ahmad Adil Muhamad