Flights, travellers to and from India barred from Wednesday (April 28), says Ismail Sabri

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia will temporarily ban flights from and to India to stop a new Covid-19 variant from entering the country as of Wednesday (April 28), says Senior Minister (Security) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

Ships and Indian citizens with Malaysian work permits will also be denied entry, he added.

In his daily update on the movement control order (MCO), he said the National Security Council (NSC) has agreed to the proposal by the Health Ministry, with exemptions given to Malaysian citizens who will undergo the mandatory 14-day quarantine upon entry.

"The NSC has agreed to temporarily bar flights from and to India.

"All travellers who began from any Indian destination, be it via direct or transit flights, are barred from entering Malaysia.

“This ban will also apply to travellers who are transiting in Malaysia to a third country. However, exemption will be given to Malaysian citizens.

"Ships with a voyage history of being in India within the last 14 days are not allowed to sign off in Malaysia except for crew members who are Malaysian citizens, who would have to undergo the mandatory quarantine of 14 days upon entry," said Ismail Sabri in a statement (April 26).

He said Malaysia will also temporarily bar the entry of foreign workers from India who hold valid temporary working passes.

"There will also be a temporary ban on international students and business travellers from India," said Ismail Sabri.

However, he said that Malaysian students, workers, spouses and children of Malaysian citizens who are currently residing in India, as well as religious groups who were in India, are allowed entry but must undergo quarantine in gazetted stations.

"Non-citizens who are spouses of Malaysian citizens are also allowed entry with quarantine.

"All the bans will be effective as of April 28," he said.

India has seen a tremendous rise of hundreds of thousands in Covid-19 cases in the past few days with a new variant emerging.