Mandatory tests being mulled for China arrivals

PETALING JAYA: A pre-departure Covid-19 test is likely to be a requirement for those arriving in Malaysia from China amid concerns of rising infections, says a highly placed source in the Health Ministry.

It is understood that Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa held a meeting with ministry officials in over the matter yesterday.

The ministry is expected to issue a statement, the source said.

China announced it would do away with its “Zero-Covid” policy and lift quarantine requirements for international arrivals.

It will also lift the ban on outbound travel for Chinese citizens, which has been in place since March 2020.

Japan, India, the United States, Italy and Taiwan are among the countries that have imposed mandatory Covid-19 testing for travellers arriving from China.

Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah had said the ministry would continue to step up its preparedness to face a possible hike in the number of daily Covid-19 cases following the surge of infections in China.

He added that ramping up the take-up rate for vaccine booster doses would be among measures taken to reduce the severity of infections and risk of death.

“(The ministry) is urging all eligible individuals to take their booster dose of the vaccine so that the Malaysian population gets optimal protection against Covid-19,” he said.

The surge in cases and lack of reliable official data on the spread of Covid-19 has become a concern to several countries as they expect arrivals from China.

On another matter, Dr Noor Hisham said the bivalent Covid-19 vaccine was likely to be available locally next year.

“It was given conditional approval on Dec 14,” Dr Noor Hisham said in a response to a Facebook query on when the vaccine would be available in Malaysia.

He advised the inquirer to get the Comirnaty (by Pfizer) monovalent vaccine as a second booster shot in the meantime.

Former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin had said in October that Malaysia could receive its stock of bivalent vaccines in November.

Bivalent vaccines provide protection against the original SARS-CoV-2 virus as well as the Omicron subvariants such as BA.4 and BA.5.