THE Health Ministry (MOH) has reported that no Chinese tourists who have entered the country since Jan 8 have tested positive for COVID-19.
This report comes amid concerns from some individuals and groups, mainly expressed on social media platforms, that opening Malaysia’s borders to Chinese tourists would lead to an increase in COVID-19 cases.
Besides, MOH has stated that Malaysia’s daily COVID-19 cases have remained below 500 since China reopened its borders.
Additionally, special lanes have been provided for Chinese travellers at international entry points, and visitors showing symptoms will be referred to health officials for further testing.
Malaysia’s Immigration Department said it will provide special lanes for travellers from China at international entry points, according to MOH.
“Visitors from China who show symptoms of COVID-19 will be referred to health officials and undergo throat swabs as well as RTK-antigen tests,” it added.
MOH says 28,705 travellers from China have entered the country between Jan 8 and 17, confirming that no arrivals have tested positive for COVID-19 so far.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa also mentioned that there has been an increase in the uptake of the second booster dose at health facilities across the country over the past two weeks.
“The second booster dose saw an increase of 2.2% or 733,668 doses.
“So far, only one of the travellers was found to have a fever during the screening. However, the RTK-AG test conducted on the traveller was negative,” she added. — Jan 21, 2023
