KUALA LUMPUR – The two-week mandatory quarantine for all passengers from India arriving in Malaysia via the humanitarian assistance and disaster relief mission on May 12 and repatriation flight on May 13 has been extended to 21 days.
Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the decision was made after seven of the 132 passengers (5.3%) on the repatriation flight tested positive for Covid-19.
“Taking into account the above results and the risk assessment carried out, the Health Ministry (MoH) decided to extend the mandatory quarantine period for the passengers involved,” he said in a statement last night.
“Based on this situation, MoH will also immediately conduct a risk assessment to look at the need to extend the quarantine period from 14 days to 21 for all other passengers arriving from India.”
He said non-citizen passengers from India are still barred from entering Malaysia.
Dr Noor Hisham urged Malaysians to cooperate to prevent the entry of the Indian Covid-19 variant B.1.617, which is reported to spread faster and cause more serious symptoms, especially among individuals aged below 50.
The repatriation flight for Malaysians in New Delhi and Mumbai arrived at Kuala Lumpur International Airport’s Air Emergency Unit at 1am on May 13.
The mission, which used a special-charter aircraft, brought home a total of 132 people, involving 117 Malaysians and six dependents, as well as a permanent resident and eight Bruneians. – Bernama, May 15, 2021
