Malaysia will impose a 14-day quarantine period for travellers and commuters coming from Singapore under the Periodic Commuting Arrangement, beginning May 13.
In addition, the Reciprocal Green Lane scheme between the two countries will be suspended from the same day.
This came after Singapore’s Health Ministry reported that several Covid-19 variants of concern and variants of interest are circulating in the country.
“The Health Ministry of Malaysia wishes to inform that the National Security Council’s (NSC) 30th meeting of 2021 held on May 7, 2021, has agreed to list Singapore as one of the countries that has reported community transmission of variants of concern […]
“In line with this development, the special NSC meeting has decided that all travellers entering Malaysia from Singapore and travellers using the PCA facility must undergo a 14-day mandatory quarantine at a quarantine station gazetted by the government beginning May 13.
“Travellers from Singapore are also subject to standard operating procedures for travellers arriving from countries with community transmission of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern,” Malaysia’s Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a statement today.
The variants detected in Singapore are the B.1.351 variant first found in South Africa, the B.1.1.7 variant first found in the UK, the B.1.1.28 variant (also known as P.1) first detected in Brazil, and the B.1.617.1 variant first detected in India.
Currently, the PCA allows Malaysians working or living in Singapore to return for short-term leave in Malaysia provided that they have stayed in Singapore for at least 90 consecutive days.
Upon their return, they are to undergo a seven-day quarantine as well as Covid-19 test, instead of the usual 10-day quarantine at a gazetted quarantine station mandated for most travellers.
When travelling to Singapore under PCA, they are to undergo a 21-day quarantine as well as three Covid-19 tests from arrival to discharge.
Similar leniencies are also extended to Singaporeans working in Malaysia.
The RGL facility, meanwhile, allows for short-term essential business travel between Singapore and several countries. However, Singapore has already unilaterally suspended the arrangement with Malaysia from Jan 30 onwards due to the rising number of Covid-19 cases in Malaysia.
Noor Hisham said travellers from Singapore who wish to enter Malaysia for business purposes would have to apply through the Malaysian Investment Development Authority’s One Stop Centre.
Previously, Malaysia has increased the quarantine period from 10 days to 14 days for travellers arriving from 40 countries.
This is in response to reports of Covid-19 variants that have increased transmissibility and/or is linked to reduced vaccine efficacy.
It also banned passenger flights to and from India to prevent the Covid-19 variant circulating there from entering the country.
For the record, the B.1.351 and B.1.1.7 variants are already circulating in Malaysia, though they are not yet the most prevalent variants in the country. - Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.