Kota Kinabalu: The Sabah government is targeting to vaccinate 60 percent of its population against Covid-19 by October, Chief Minister Datuk Hajiji Noor said today.

He said achieving the target will enable the reopening of more business and service sectors, including tourism, that have been badly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

He said Sabah needs 600,000 doses of vaccines this month and 1.2 million doses next month to achieve this target, and he hoped the federal government could supply the required amount.

“We want to maintain the (vaccination) momentum to ensure the population will get vaccinated as soon as possible,” he said in a statement.

He had earlier received a visit from Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) committee members, led by its president Datuk K L Tan, at his office at the Sabah state administration centre here.

Regarding MATTA’s suggestion to restart the tourism industry post-Covid-19, Hajiji said the Sabah government will ensure the tourism industry in Sabah will succeed under a comprehensive tourism recovery plan.

“Under the Sabah Prihatin Assistance 3.0 programme, the government has allocated RM2.88 million to be distributed to tour guides, divers, mountain guides, porters, and hotel and homestay operators affected by the pandemic,” he said.