PUTRAJAYA: Five domestic tourists have been detected with positive COVID-19 out of 2,528 people who underwent RTK-Ag testing before entering Pulau Langkawi when the island is opened as a “Domestic Tourism Bubble” pilot project starting today.
Director General of Health, Tan Sri Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah said, besides the five positive cases, six people had undergone their own RT-PCR tests prior to the airport and all results were negative and the remaining 12 children six years and below did not undergo the COVID-19 test and were allowed to leave with their families.
He said, all the five positive COVID-19 cases detected were in category one which is asymptomatic. These cases were given Home Surveillance and Observation (HSO) orders to be isolated for a period of 10 days.
“As of 12 noon on 16th Sept. 2021, a total of 2,546 people have been screened at the air and sea entrance to Langkawi Island. This involved a total of 1,250 people who were screened at four airport entrances and 1,296 via ferry in Kuala Perlis,” Dr. Noor Hisham said in a statement here today.
Dr. Noor Hisham said, Ministry of Health (MOH) has started to review the COVID-19 screening test and also the COVID-19 screening test (for tourists who have not undergone the test) before they depart for Langkawi Island at the air and sea entrance.
“As emphasized earlier, the success of the Langkawi Pilot Project as the first domestic tourism bubble is crucial in determining the direction of the opening of the next domestic tourism bubble destination.
“This pilot project needs to be implemented carefully to ensure that it runs smoothly and does not cause an increase in cases and new clusters. For that reason, the government needs to ensure that every tourist going on holiday to Langkawi Island has received a complete vaccination, is not a positive case of COVID-19, and not close contact to a positive case.
“The success of bringing the country out of this pandemic crisis cannot only depend on the efforts and strategies of the government alone, but must be supported by joint efforts by all parties and levels of society,” he said.-Malaysia World News
