Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced today that the country will be tightening its borders amid fears of another Covid-19 wave after China lifted its travel restrictions.
Speaking to the press, he said the Cabinet agreed to prioritise public health over economy and tourism.
“We will control and tighten (our borders) even more, including (travellers) from the US and China,” he said.
The 75-year-old reiterated that his administration was not biased against any particular nation and maintained that tightening the country’s borders was for all travellers and not just China.
“We are acting to save our people,” he said. “We will not choose (which countries to impose additional restrictions) because we know travellers (with Covid-19) can come from anywhere.
“We don’t want to be hasty.”
He stated that the government will continue to monitor Covid-19 developments.
Anwar also urged people to get their second booster shots.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has urged the government to ensure that all Chinese visitors are tested negative for Covid-19 before entering Malaysia.
According to MMA president Dr Muruga Raj Rajathurai, the health ministry should only allow fully vaccinated Chinese visitors who test negative in a reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test to enter.
“Upon arrival at the entry point or within 24 hours, travellers should undergo a professional Antigen Rapid Test Kit (RTK-Ag) screening for Covid-19.
“The same should also be done for travellers from other countries experiencing a significant rise in cases (Covid-19),” he said in a statement today.
The health ministry announced on Friday that all visitors arriving in Malaysia will be subjected to fever tests.
Its minister, Dr Zaliha Mustafa, stated that those who are feverish, symptomatic, or have self-declared Covid-19 symptoms will be referred to a quarantine centre or the health authorities for further examination.
At the same time, those who have travelled to China within the last 14 days will be subjected to an RTK-Antigen test, and samples will be sent for genome testing if they test positive for Covid-19.
This also applies to those who have close contact with individuals who have travelled to China within 14 days, or exhibit influenza-like illnesses (ILI) or severe acute respiratory infection (SARI).
The ministry will also run PCR tests on sewage samples from aircraft coming from China, which would be sent for genome sequencing if they were found to be positive.
