Foreign Affairs Minister Hishammuddin Hussein may not qualify to have his quarantine period reduced to three days after returning from the United Arab Emirates.
Health Minister Dr Adham Baba (above) said this will depend on whether Hishammuddin sticks to a strict itinerary as Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin did during his recent trip to Indonesia.
"For Hishammuddin, I'm not confident his entourage was kept separate. So I will not allow (quarantine) for three days. It will be 10 days as usual.
"I will monitor it closely. If I am confident he went overseas and did not follow the itinerary as shown, which we will investigate, we will impose 10 days quarantine (including) the three days before (departure) when he was tested," Adham told Malaysiakini.
The option to relax quarantine rules for cabinet members was made by the health minister yesterday.
He defended his decision, saying only ministers who strictly follow a "bubble itinerary" can qualify for the relaxed quarantine.
Speaking to Malaysiakini, Adham cited the economy and Muhyiddin's 24-hour trip to Indonesia in explaining his rationale.
Muhyiddin, he said, had not been quarantined upon arrival at Jakarta last Thursday, because Indonesia wanted to open up its economy.
"It's not that we are taking Indonesia's example, but we have to be reciprocal.
"This is what we call the green travel bubble.
"Is it fair that Muhyiddin was not quarantined in Indonesia, but was quarantined when he returned (on Friday)?" he said.
He also said that checks by the Health Ministry found that the prime minister had kept to a "very strict" itinerary, and did not go anywhere unofficially.
"Three days before departure he tested negative. When he flew to Indonesia he tested negative. When he returned he got tested too.
"So we allowed three days of isolation to see if he developed symptoms.
"We are very satisfied with his risk assessment, which I checked. He was really in a bubble and protected there (in Jakarta)," Adham said.
According to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), Muhyiddin is still undergoing home quarantine today.
The PMO also threatened legal action against Umno supreme council member Puad Zarkashi who claimed the relaxed quarantine period was set because Muhyiddin and his entourage did not want to be quarantined.
Critics have panned the relaxed quarantine rules, saying the Covid-19 virus does not distinguish between ministers and ordinary Malaysians.
The Health Ministry had in December reduced the quarantine period from 14 days to 10 days citing a review of global clinical data.
Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah at the time said clinical data showed a trend of countries reducing their mandatory quarantine days, as well as the Covid-19 infectivity rate being highest in the first seven days and reducing over time. - Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.