KUALA LUMPUR: Travellers arriving from Saudi Arabia will be required to wear digital tracking devices throughout their home surveillance and quarantine periods, from next week.
Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said this is in light of the increasing spread of the Covid-19 Omicron variant in Malaysia, with the majority of cases involving individuals who returned from their Umrah pilgrimage in the kingdom.
He said 10 countries have been identified as high-risk Covid-19 countries - UK, US, Denmark, Australia, France, Norway, Canada, India, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia - which would require returnees to wear the tracking devices.
This, he said, was imperative to control the spread of the coronavirus as the ministry found that most of the individuals allowed to undergo home quarantine failed to comply with the directive, whereby they mingled with family members and even received guests while under quarantine.
"We received many cases where the travellers tested negative during the pre-departure Covid test but upon arrival in Malaysia, they were found to be positive. This meant that within those 72 hours (from the pre-departure test until the screening test upon arrival), they could have been infected given Omicron has a high community transmission rate.
"These travellers then head home and come into contact with their families. Their family members who are not under quarantine will carry on with their usual routine and possibly infect others along the way.
"This is serious. The ministry is therefore looking into beefing up Covid-19 testing at the international arrival point where we might require travellers to undertake both the Rt-PCR and RTK-Antigen tests, but we have to first look at the facilities at KLIA.
"The ministry also found that a large number of Malaysians who returned from their Umrah pilgrimage, did not observe the home quarantine SOP and even welcomed visitors who maybe wanted to 'salam untuk ambil berkat', but ended up 'salam ambil Omicron," he said at a press conference here today.
Of the 49 Omicron cases detected on Dec 24, a bulk of them comprised returnees from Saudi Arabia (30 cases), followed by five from the United Kingdom, four from Qatar, three from the United States, two from Nigeria, one each from Turkey, Italy, UAE and Ghana, and one suspected local transmission case, which involved a 38-year-old Chinese national in Sarawak.
Khairy said the ministry had permitted home quarantine as the country prepares to live with Covid-19 and cautioned Malaysians to strictly observe the Home Surveillance Order (HSO).
He also recommended for individuals who are eligible to receive the Covid-19 vaccine to obtain a booster dose to achieve the optimal level of protection and prevent severe infection and complications from the virus.
"The ministry would like to remind individuals who are instructed to undergo compulsory quarantine at the residence or house to continue to comply with the instructions, remain in a separate room and do not meet with members of the household or other individuals.
"Failure to comply with these instructions will result in the transmission of Covid-19 infections including Omicron variants among family members and the community".
The minister adds that in the excitement of Christmas and New Year celebrations, the public is also reminded to observe the new norms and adhere to the SOPs at all times.
"Perform a Covid-19 self-detection test using RTK Ag before visiting relatives, neighbours or friends. If symptoms occur, seek treatment and stay home."