SEPANG: Fully vaccinated Malaysians and foreigners returning from overseas will no longer have to send emails to apply for their home quarantine.
Instead, they can apply via the Home Quarantine Application (HQA) portal at https://ecovid19.moh.gov.my/outbreak-portal-hqa, starting tomorrow from 8am.
Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the HQA portal was aimed at simplifying the process for fully vaccinated returnees.
"Previously, they had to make an application for home quarantine by sending an email to the Health Ministry's Home Surveillance Order team at hso@moh.gov.my.
"However, this process has created backlogs and currently, we have a backlog of about 6,000 applications for home quarantine. This is as emails have to be opened and processed individually.
"Therefore, as an improvement measure, we have developed a portal known as Home Quarantine Application (HQA) to better manage the large number of applications.
"We hope to ease the process of people coming back to Malaysia; be it Malaysians or expatriates, who found it so difficult to apply for home quarantine because of the backlogs," he said after visiting the BP Healthcare Covid-19 Health Screening Centre at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) today.
Khairy said the application for home quarantine has increased tremendously, following a previous announcement that travellers who had completed their Covid-19 vaccination can undergo mandatory quarantine at home.
He said the applications must be made within seven to 10 days before arrival in Malaysia.
"Therefore, plan your journey."
Khairy, however, said there will be no change in the conditions to undergo mandatory quarantine at home.
"All the conditions, as previously announced, must be complied with by all travellers arriving in Malaysia," he said.