Covid-19: Mask on, take booster shots and make PCR mandatory for tourists

SHAH ALAM - Health expert has urged the government to implement three Covid-19 preventive measures for tourists, specifically those from China, entering Malaysia including making the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test mandatory.

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia's Public Health expert Professor Dr Sharifa Ezat Wan Puteh said this was to avoid a new wave of Covid-19 outbreak in the country.

In addition, she stated that the two other recommendations were to reimplement the use of face masks in public places, especially in closed areas, and seriously promote taking booster doses, especially for those who have yet to receive the vaccination.

She said these three things need to be paid attention to if the government wants to prevent the wave of deadly infections from reemerging in this country.

"Regarding the Covid-19 PCR test, any tourist from China who wants to enter Malaysia's border either by air or sea, needs to do a health screening first, the cost of which is borne by them and if they are found to be positive, they need to be sent home.

"We also see that the use of face masks as a fundamental effort to curb the spread of Covid-19. It won’t be a surprise if the government makes face masks mandatory again, plus many are already using it,” she told Sinar when asked about the fears of Covid-19 outbreak into the new year.

It has been reported that some foreign countries including Japan, Italy and France has made it mandatory for Covid-19 screening test for tourists arriving from mainland China starting last Friday.

Commenting further on the booster dose, Dr Sharifa said the government must focus more on giving awareness to the community to take at least one booster dose in a bid to ensure the side effects of the Covid-19 infection does not lead to complications.

"We are aware that many people are concerned about the possibility of the re-spread of Covid-19 following China's announcement to end the quarantine requirements for their people thus steps must be taken,” she said.

She added that China's decision sparked fears of a repeat back in 2020, when China first experienced the outbreak in late 2019 before the virus spread worldwide.

The total number of Covid-19 infections in Malaysia has now surpassed the five million mark, with 5,026,164 cases recorded as of Saturday, since the epidemic hit the world more than two years ago.

There has been a total of 36,852 deaths due to Covid-19 in Malaysia.