Govt to bar workers, students from Omicron-risk countries

PETALING JAYA: The health ministry will impose entry restrictions on foreign workers and international students from countries with a high risk of Omicron infections.

Health minister Khairy Jamaluddin said workers and students from Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Malawi would no longer be allowed to enter Malaysia.

Khairy said the decision was reached during a meeting yesterday, where the government decided to implement temporary preventive measures against Omicron as it may be more transmissible than other variants.

Apart from students and workers, travellers from the eight countries are no longer allowed to enter Malaysia for the time being.

The other measures include obtaining a daily list of countries that reported cases involving the new variant and countries with a high risk of Omicron’s transmission.

“The high-risk countries include countries that have low-vaccination rates and high community spread,” he said at an online press conference.

“We will do daily risk-assessment to update the countries. The list will be distributed to relevant parties such as the immigration department and foreign affairs ministry.”

Khairy also said the use of the “autogate” system under the immigration department would be suspended temporarily.

In addition, the government would postpone plans to establish a vaccinated travel lane (VTL) programme with the listed countries.

Meanwhile, travellers taking part in the air VTL programme between Malaysia and Singapore were encouraged to conduct Covid-19 self-testing on the third and seventh day after arrival.

He reminded the public to continue to exercise caution and follow the SOPs to contain and prevent the spread of Covid-19.

“The health ministry strongly advises senior citizens and those with comorbidities to cancel overseas travel and avoid crowded public areas due to developments on Omicron,” he said. — Free Malaysia Today