Malaysia will temporarily ban travellers from several countries which have reported cases of the Omicron variant of Covid-19, said Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.
The minister said 18 countries have so far reported imported cases of the new variant of concern.
“This variant can spread much faster than previous variants. It has already demonstrated a high probability that it is more transmissible,” Khairy said in a press conference today.
So far Malaysia has not reported any case of this new virus.
Khairy added, the Health Ministry has indeed decided to ban non-citizens entering Malaysia from countries considered to be at high-risk of Omicron spread including South Africa, Botswana, Eswathini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Malawi, Netherlands, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Australia, Hong Kong SAR, Italy, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Spain, France, Israel, Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Sweden, and Japan.
Malaysian citizens and permanent residents arriving from these countries will not be barred from entering Malaysia, but they will be required to undergo a 14-day quarantine on arrival.
