Malaysia orders 21-day quarantine for travellers from Bangladesh, other South Asian countries

The Malaysian authorities have said that travellers arriving from South Asian countries of Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan will have to go into mandatory quarantine for a period of 21 days upon arrival in the country.

The move comes following the rapid spread of different and deadlier coronavirus variants around the world.

Malaysia’s Director General for Health Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah on Thursday told the media that the mandatory quarantine period for both Malaysians and non-citizens coming in from Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Pakistan had been extended to three weeks.

Also Read - Covid surge in Bangladesh: No end in sight

Arrivals from the aforementioned countries will be kept at government-selected quarantine centres, he added.

He said that more than 50% of the country’s Covid patients had reported the spread of “variant of concerns (VOC)” in the community.

According to the Kuala Lumpur-based newspaper Malay Mail, all those entering Malaysia must get a rt-PCR test done within three days of their departure and arrival.

Also Read - Malaysia imposes lockdown as Southeast Asia battles virus surge

Meanwhile, for travellers undergoing a 14-day quarantine, a rt-PCR test will be conducted on the 10th day of their quarantine. 

They will be released after completing 14 days of quarantine if found negative.

However, for people undergoing the 21-day quarantine, this test will be performed on the 18th day.

Those quarantined for 14 days may have their stay extended by a week if it is deemed necessary by a risk assessment performed at the end of the first two weeks.