Covid-19: Govt urged not to rush into accepting China's travellers amid possible resurgence
30 Dec 2022 07:47pm
The government has been asked not to rush into allowing travellers from China into the country - FILE PIX
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Public Health and Health Economics expert with the Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Prof Dr Sharifa Ezat Wan Puteh said the government must first look at the current developments related to COVID-19 to prevent the introduction of variants that have not been discovered yet that could further harm the country.
"The possibility of new variants entering the country is high, plus we are approaching the festive season (Chinese New Year) so it is difficult for us to control movement.
"...so the worry is if they bring those cases to Malaysia along with new variants that we have not identified yet," she told Bernama.
It was reported that China is set to reopen its borders on Jan 8 after three years of battling the COVID-19 pandemic, however, concerns have arisen due to the recent explosions of new infections in the country.
Public Health Organisation Malaysia advisor Datuk Dr Zainal Ariffin Omar said he believed that there was no need to impose restrictions on tourists from China, but opined that the Ministry of Health (MOH) together with airline companies must conduct strict surveillance.
"Consider strict measures for the entry of travellers from China and don't be complacent, those who want to enter need to be fully vaccinated and undergo a COVID-19 test preferably a PCR test," he said.
Dr Zainal also urged the government to ensure more Malaysians take the COVID-19 booster dose as a precaution to curb the spread of the outbreak.
According to him, the low take-up rate for the booster dose in the country can pose a risk, considering the immunisation level of the people is probably decreasing.
Based on data from the KKMNOW website as of noon today, a total of 16,278,669 or 49.8 per cent of the country's population have taken the first booster dose while only 629,215 or 1.9 per cent managed to obtain the second COVID-19 booster dose
Meanwhile, the Malaysia Budget and Business Hotel Association (MyBHA) president Dr Sri Ganesh Micheil said the country should not prohibit the movement of any traveller, especially tourists from abroad.
He said the government through the agencies under MOH as well as the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture must take measures to ensure the hotel and tourism industry is safe and secure.
A Malaysia Airlines spokesman when contacted expressed the company’s commitment to continue complying with the requirements prescribed by the government and authorities from time to time to ensure passengers’ safety and well-being.
Meanwhile, University Malaya Public Health expert Prof Dr Moy Foong Ming said the public should adhere to the existing preventive measures such as mask-wearing especially in crowded and poorly ventilated areas, ensuring their vaccination status is always updated and maintaining a healthy lifestyle to have good immunity.
"People could also practice TRIIS (Test, Report, Isolate, Inform, Seek) if they have flu-like symptoms,” she added.
-- BERNAMA
