KUALA LUMPUR (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Malaysia's three federal territories of Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan will most likely be the first three areas in the country to hit herd immunity in the battle against the Covid-19 pandemic, Federal Territories Minister Annuar Musa said.

Based on current available data, Tan Sri Annuar said Labuan in Sabah would be the first to hit herd immunity, with the majority of its population vaccinated by next month, four months ahead of schedule in the National Recovery Plan target.

This will be followed by Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya which are aiming to achieve herd immunity as early as August.

Mr Annuar said vaccine registrations in both cities had hit 100 per cent among their target population aged 18 and above. In Labuan so far, 80 per cent of its population have registered for vaccination.

The number of people vaccinated in Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan collectively have increased from 7,000 to 35,789 per day.

In Putrajaya alone, the numbers have increased from 1,000 to 1,800 per day, while in Labuan, it has more than quadrupled, from 700 to 3,000 a day.

"We are able to accelerate the process because we have the capacity and resources to do so with 100 vaccination centres (PPVs) in all three cities.

"Apart from the mega PPVs, we also have 100 private clinics, 19 private hospitals and 12 mobile trucks on board to help with the programme," said Mr Annuar.

He also revealed plans to help certain vulnerable groups in the federal territories get vaccinated, such as the homeless community, food delivery riders and those who are categorised as B40 - the bottom 40 per cent of income earners.

"We have thus far vaccinated about 2,000 workers from the Kuala Lumpur and Selayang wholesale market under the recent MYMedic@Wilayah Vaccine Mobile Truck initiative," he said.

He added that 119 of the homeless people that were rescued from the streets had completed their two doses while another 133 would be getting their first.

"Next, we are targeting senior citizens living in People's Housing Project (PPR) flats and traditional villages. We will go to them instead of them coming to us," said Mr Annuar, disclosing that the ministry had identified 22 locations for this phase of the vaccination initiative.

Plans in the pipeline also include using mobile trucks to go to construction sites in Kuala Lumpur to vaccinate workers.

"We plan to add 30 more of these trucks, with each having the capacity to administer 600 doses per day,'' said Mr Annuar.

There are 52 doctors, 104 nurses and more than 150 administrative workers are involved in the programme.

The Kuala Lumpur federal territory is estimated to have a population of 1.8 million, Putrajaya 108,000 and around 100,000 for Labuan.

Malaysia is targeting to achieve herd immunity of 80 per cent of its 33 million population by the end of the year.

On food delivery riders, Mr Annuar said they were considered vulnerable too as they had to work during the lockdowns.

"It is only fair that they are vaccinated quickly and we are currently in talks with the food delivery companies to get this done,'' he said.

When asked if there was a possibility of reopening certain sectors like the entertainment sector once Kuala Lumpur achieved its herd immunity target, he said it had not been discussed in detail.

"The principle remains the same. If the situation is safe for some sectors to start, of course, the government wants to help these sectors; they have been suffering for so long, but that must be treated in totality.

"For instance, the hotel sector. If Kuala Lumpur can achieve its herd immunity, we believe the hotel industry can slowly reopen,'' he said.

Meanwhile, to address the financial difficulties faced by thousands of people living in the three Federal Territories who have lost their jobs and are struggling to make ends meet, the ministry has rolled out several forms of aid, starting with assessment rebates between 5 per cent and 10 per cent to all ratepayers in Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan.

"We will finalise the offer but the cost involved in carrying this out is estimated at between RM50 million (S$16.12 million) and RM100 million," said Mr Annuar.

Ratepayers are also allowed to pay by instalments to ease their cash flow, and all late penalties will be expunged.

Those renting government housing units and other city assets such as food courts are given a 50 per cent discount on rent.

The minister also assured that traders who registered under the Federal Territories Free Trading ("Wilayah Bebas Berniaga") initiative would be exempted from paying licence fees until the year-end.

About 4,510 licences were approved in all three territories.

The initiative was first introduced last November and was only meant to last until July, but has now been extended until the end of the year.

"We all want to see life go back to normal, and I am hoping that this can happen in August. I also want to see Kuala Lumpur become vibrant again," said Mr Annuar.