[UPDATED] 21-day quarantine for travellers from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan

KUALA LUMPUR – Travellers arriving from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan into the country will have their mandatory quarantine period increased from 14 days to 21 days, said Senior Minister (Security) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

In a statement, the minister said those arriving from other countries have also had the confinement order extended from 10 days to 14 days, with the possible extension of another seven days after risk assessment is carried out on their 14th day of quarantine.

“The additional quarantine will be implemented at the same stations,” Ismail said.

Ismail said the extended quarantine periods apply to both Malaysian citizens and non-citizens arriving from the listed countries.

He added that the current 21-day quarantine imposed on travellers from India will be maintained.

The minister said the National Security Council, in deciding on the extension, took into account the Covid-19 situation enveloping the world, with 50% of nations reporting variants of concern (VoCs) in their communities.

Other rulings include travellers having to undergo Rt-PCR screenings three days before departing for Malaysia, of which only those with negative results would be allowed to enter the country. They are also required to be screened again upon arrival in the country.

“A repeated Covid-19 Rt-PCR test will be done on the 10th day (of quarantine). If the quarantine period is extended to 21 days, another Rt-PCR test will be done on the 18th day,” he said.

New impositions of EMCO

On the current movement control order (MCO), Ismail said five sub-zones in Labuan have been placed under the enhanced MCO (EMCO), effective May 26 until June 24. All of the sub-zones have been classified as orange or red zones.

Ismail said the Health Ministry  has also confirmed that the infectivity rate in Labuan is at 2.55, which is above the 2.00 mark, indicating the possibility of wide-scale infections in the area.

The minister said the EMCO will also be imposed in Pahang’s Kuala Lipis (24 cases), Penjom (57 cases) and Budu (51 cases) sub-districts between May 26 and June 8.

The decision, he said, is based on the total number of infections detected after 938 screenings there between May 1 and May 24.

The EMCO will also be applied in two localities, Taman Seri Ketiau and Taman Desa Seri Ketiau, in Putatan, Sabah, between May 26 and June 8. He said that until today, the ministry has confirmed a spike in cases in the two localities within the span of a week, with 21 cases detected from 282 screenings.

Ismail said the EMCO will also be imposed in Kg Sg Imam, in Tawau, as well as Ladang Felda Global Ventures (FGV) in Kalabakan Selatan, Sabah, from May 26 to June 8.

This came following the detection of 17 positive cases from 57 screenings conducted in a week in Kg Sg Imam and nine positive cases out of 47 tested in Ladang FGV, Kalabakan.

Meanwhile, the EMCO in Felda Umas, Kalabakan, and Kg Bako Hilir in Kuching will be lifted tomorrow as scheduled.

On standard operating procedure compliance, Ismail said 800 individuals were arrested yesterday over various offences.

The offences recorded were failure to observe physical distancing (248 cases), failure to record personal details before entering premises (219), failure to wear face masks (133), failure to comply with movement restrictions (61), carrying excess passengers (13), and others (216).

Ismail also said that 21 illegal immigrants were detained under Ops Benteng, while 12 land vehicles were seized by authorities today. – The Vibes, May 24, 2021