PUTRAJAYA: Amid fears of a new Covid-19 wave with the lifting of travel restrictions in China, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim maintains that protecting the people’s health is the government’s priority.
At a press conference here today, Anwar said the Cabinet agreed that public health should take priority over the economy and tourism.
“We will control and tighten (our borders) even more, including (travellers) from the US and China,” he said.
Anwar maintained that Putrajaya was not discriminating against any particular nation, reiterating that tighter border measures would not only be for travellers from 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 said the government will continue to monitor the developments relating to Covid-19.
Anwar also encouraged the public to take up their second booster shots.
On Friday, the health ministry announced that all travellers arriving in Malaysia will have to undergo temperature checks for fever.
Its minister, Dr Zaliha Mustafa, said those found to be feverish, symptomatic or have self-declared Covid-19 symptoms will be referred to a quarantine centre, or to the health authorities for further checks.
At the same time, those with a history of travelling to China within 14 days of their arrival will be required to undergo an RTK-Antigen test, and samples will be sent for genome testing if they are tested 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.
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