KUALA LUMPUR – Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has issued a strong advisory to senior citizens and individuals with comorbidities to avoid international travel and crowded areas in Malaysia.
This, he said, is in light of the new Covid-19 Omicron variant.
The Health Ministry also announced further travel restrictions for travellers arriving from countries that have reported the variant’s spread and are considered high-risk.
Yesterday, Foreign Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein announced travel restrictions for those arriving from South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, and Zimbabwe.
Today, Malawi was added to the list.
Khairy emphasised this was a temporary measure following further details on the new Omicron variant.
The travel ban will also apply to international students and foreign workers from the mentioned countries.
“These temporary controls apply to non-Malaysian travellers from countries reporting a spread of the Omicron variant or that are listed as high-risk, and those with a history of travel to those nations.
“The restrictions don’t apply to Malaysians or those with long-term passes arriving here,” Khairy said.
The Rembau MP said Malaysian travellers from those countries must undergo RT-PCR tests 72 hours before flying, upon arrival, and on the 14th day of their mandatory quarantine, regardless of vaccination status.
Khairy also mentioned that Malaysians will not be allowed to travel to the countries mentioned, and the government will suspend plans to form a Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) with those nations.
Meanwhile, travellers that use the Malaysia-Singapore VTL must undergo a self-test on the third and seventh day from their arrival and report their status on the MySejahtera app.
The ministry will also update this list of countries on a daily basis.
As for booster doses, Khairy said the ministry will increase the daily vaccination capacity from 120,000 doses daily to 150,000.
“It is important to say these measures are temporary and the ministry will either tighten or loosen them in the future, based on information received on the variant,” Khairy added. – The Vibes, December 1, 2021
