GEORGE TOWN: There will be no more quarantine hotels in the state as the hospitality business gets back on its feet after being cast over by the bleak shadow of the Covid-19 pandemic.
State Tourism and Creative Economy Committee chairman Yeoh Soon Hin said hotels that were previously transformed into Low-Risk Covid-19 Quarantine and Treatment Centre (PKRC) are now back in regular business as home isolation is now permitted for Covid-19 positive patients.
He said the government-run PKRC was still sufficient to accommodate patients.
"There is one government-run PKRC in Penang which is the Mara Education Centre (MEC) Jawi. As of yesterday, the occupancy rate at MEC is 34 per cent.
"Yesterday's figure also shows that patients receiving treatment in hospital wards at Pulau Pinang Hospital are at 70 per cent, Kepala Batas Hospital at 69 per cent and Sungai Bakap Hospital at 67 per cent," he said today.
Yeoh said, after a prolonged period of stagnation during the Movement Control Order (MCO), the hotel industry is now gaining momentum again through domestic business and tourism activities.
"Hence, hotels in Penang are back at what they do best, which is to provide exemplary hospitality services to customers," he added.
Commenting about industry preparedness, Yeoh said he had observed strict adherence to health protocols and safety measures during his recent visits to hotels.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob recently announced that Malaysia was finally ready to reopen its international borders, which had remained close for about two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, as the country enters a transitional phase into endemicity from April 1.
The governments of Malaysia and Singapore had also reached an agreement to expand the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) by air to serve the Penang-Singapore route starting March 16.