Remain vigilant and monitor Chinese tourists despite open-door policy - Health Experts
Government targets five million Chinese tourists this year, compared to 3.1 million in 2019 - FILEPIX
Pantai Hospital Kuala Lumpur consultant lung doctor Dr Helmy Haja Mydin said vigilance and constant monitoring was important as another outbreak would strain the country's healthcare capacity.
“Movement of tourists from China is not dissimilar to those from other countries with large numbers of COVID-19 cases in Europe & North America.
“Existing measures should continue to ensure that we do not have high numbers of cases coming in that may potentially impact healthcare capacity,” he told Sinar Daily.
The public health expert also added the health industry was in the midst of monitoring the presence of variants and sub variants in the country, hence the policies that were imposed by the government could always be changed.
“But the most important thing is for the message to go out that we must get our booster doses - especially those who are elderly and those who have existing medical conditions,” he advised.
Public Health Specialist Professor Dr Hematram Yadav suggested the preventive measures suggested by the government needed to be carried out effectively.
“Malaysia has a high immunisation rate, hence there is some amount of immunity which may prevent the spread. Also it is presumed that the travellers are also screened.
“The measures at the moment as mentioned are sufficient but we need to be serious on the arrivals and screen effectively,” he said.
Dr Hematram further contended that the public should not be overly worried of the tourists from China - as long as there were necessary preventive measures in place.
Previously, the media reported that the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry targeted five million tourists from China this year, compared to 3.1 million in 2019.
Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing assured that Chinese tourists would undergo Covid-19 screening tests prior coming to Malaysia, in their own country.
He also advised Malaysians to take care of their own health and follow the standard operating procedures (SOP) to prevent the virus from spreading.
