The Melaka government plans to implement the Covid-19 vaccination programme involving tourism industry players soon.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Sulaiman Md Ali (pic) said the state government had received a list of tourism players in the state but the plan required the approval of several parties including the Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force as well as depending on the vaccine supply received by Melaka.

"We are still in Phase One of the National Recovery Plan but efforts to carry out a special vaccination programme for tourism industry players must be done as one of the initiatives to revive the industry which has been severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

"We hope that if Melaka moves to the next phase and the tourism industry is allowed to operate, the players will be ready," he told reporters at the vaccination centre outreach programme at the Al-Alami Mosque.

Commenting further, Sulaiman said the effort could indirectly help speed up the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme and ensure that Melaka could achieve the herd immunity as soon as possible.

In another development, he said as of Aug 5, a total of 359,817 or 53.12 per cent of Melaka residents had received the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine while 201,859 people (29.8 per cent) had completed both doses.

He added that a total of 89.6 per cent or 606,681 Melaka residents had registered under National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme.