Kuala Lumpur: The Muslim minor pilgrimage trips of umrah to Saudi Arabia will be postponed if the Omicron variant spread there worsens or the infection intensifies among Malaysian pilgrims, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said.
He said that returnees will also be quarantined at government-mandated stations — instead of currently being allowed to self-isolate at home and wearing digital trackers throughout their quarantine period.
“If, if the situation in Saudi Arabia worsens and if the spread of Omicron from those who return from umrah later is at a level that is rather worrying, then we have a further step-up measure, that is to be quarantined at quarantine stations and thirdly, we postpone the umrah first,” he told the press here.
However, Khairy stressed that this is only a last resort, and the current situation has yet to achieve that level.
“We will go step by step. We are being pre-emptive but not until the extent where we have to make hurried decisions.
“We are still monitoring the situation, we are stepping up the gatekeeping and also the measures,” he added.
Khairy said that the Ministry of Health will also remind relevant travel agencies to ensure that Malaysian travellers or pilgrims heading to Saudi Arabia to receive their Covid-19 vaccine booster shots before leaving.
Upon returning, he said travellers are also encouraged to carry out self-tests daily throughout their quarantine period as many of those who initially tested negative pre-departure and upon arrival, only tested positive on the fifth day.
“So this means they were infected, but cannot be detected during the pre-departure test and the test upon arrival at the international departure gate. That is something new that we are learning about Omicron now,” Khairy said.
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