By Ling Hui
KUCHING, Dec 1: International students and foreign workers from eight African countries are being barred from entering Sarawak effective immediately until further notice.
This is the latest announcement by State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) in a statement today, in effort to curb the spread of the latest Covid-19 variant, Omicron (B.1.1.529).
The eight countries involved are Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Malawi.
In line with the Ministry of Health (MOH), SDMC is also banning the entry of non-Malaysian travelers from countries reporting Omicron transmissions or those at high risk of Omicron transmissions.
The restriction applies to travelers with a history of travel to the listed countries within 14 days prior to arrival in Sarawak.
As for Malaysian citizens, only those with long-term visit passes namely the permanent resident (PR) visa, spouse visa, Sarawak-Malaysia My Second Home (SMM2H) returning or with travel history for the past 14 days from the eight African countries are permitted to enter Sarawak.
However, they will need to apply for entry through the EnterSarawak system and undergo a compulsory 14-day quarantine at designated quarantine centres at the first point-of-entry to Malaysia, notwithstanding the vaccination statuses.
Home quarantines are strictly disallowed for this group of individuals.
Other than having negative RT-PCR (rapid test polymerase chain reaction) test results three days prior to their travels, their Covid-19 swab test results on the 12th day of quarantine must also be negative before the isolation period can be terminated.
It is also compulsory for travelers from foreign countries to report their travel history to airport staff.
Failure to do so will result in legal action. — DayakDaily
