The Penang-Singapore VTL will commence with four flights per day, shared equally between participating airlines operating in Malaysia and Singapore.

This will apply to travellers arriving from abroad through the VTL programme with Singapore, the Langkawi International Tourism Bubble and the One-Stop Centre for short-term business visitors.

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob says this will help revive economic and business networks, especially in the tourism sector.

The matter is under close study given the high number of cases due to the Omicron wave.

Singapore also says it is in talks to expand the VTL to Penang and Kota Kinabalu.

However, ticket quotas will be halved for air and land travel.

This follows a similar move by Singapore to freeze all new ticket sales over the same period.

This will take effect on Dec 20, depending on the Covid-19 situation at that point.

This is about 60% of the quota allowed.

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin says there is no need to panic as the current preventive measures have been effective in terms of curbing the spread of infection.

A risk assessment is being conducted on those who travelled on the same bus as the individual to determine whether they need to be quarantined or subjected to other restrictions.

Up to 1,440 travellers from each side can travel if they hold citizenship, permanent residency or long-term visas in the destination country, without undergoing quarantine.