Travellers from Singapore must undergo 14 days of quarantine in Malaysia, up from 10 days

The new ruling is effective from May 13. ST PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERN

PUTRAJAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - All travellers arriving in Malaysia from Singapore must undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine from Thursday (May 13), up from the current 10-day period.

Malaysia's Health Ministry director-general, Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, said on Monday (May 10) that Singapore is now included in Malaysia's list of countries reporting the spread of Covid-19 variants of concern (VOC) in its community.

Dr Noor Hisham said the National Security Council, which oversees Malaysia's pandemic response, made this decision last Friday.

The council has also agreed to suspend the Malaysia-Singapore Reciprocal Green Lane from May 13.

"Travellers from Singapore who wish to enter Malaysia for business purposes will have to go through the One-Stop Centre under the Malaysian Investment Development Agency," said Dr Noor Hisham in his daily Covid-19 press statement.

The World Health Organisation has identified three VOCs - namely the B1351 South African variant, the B117 variant from Britain and the B1128 variant reported in Brazil.

The council's decision followed a report by Singapore's Health Ministry, Dr Noor Hisham said, in which the three VOCs, as well as the B16171 "variant of interest" from India, had been found in the community.

"It is based on reports that were published by the Singaporean Health Ministry, where cases involving the B1351 South African variant, the B117 United Kingdom variant, the B1128 Brazilian variant, and the Variant of Interest from India which is the B16171 variant were reported," he said.

Last month, Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that travellers arriving in Malaysia from countries which report transmissions of Covid-19 VOCs would be subjected to a mandatory 14-day quarantine as opposed to the 10-day period previously announced.

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