KUALA LUMPUR: Following the emergence Omicron (B.1.1.259) Covid-19 variant, the government has issued a travel restriction on travellers from several countries, barring them from participating in the Langkawi international travel bubble programme.
The countries are the Russian Federation, Georgia, Poland, Ukraine, Romania, Slovakia, North Macedonia, Guernsey, Croatia, French Guiana, Libya, Jordan, Bangladesh and the Philippines.
Also included are Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The Health Ministry, in a statement today, said the move comes as part of prevention and control measures to curb any possible spread of Omicron variant infection, which have been confirmed in those countries.
The ministry said it will continue to monitor the development of the new variant and amend any measures from time to time.
"The risk assessment on countries take three things into account which are local transmission, number of cases and vaccination coverage in the particular country," it said.
Meanwhile, Health Director General Tan Sri Noor Hisham Abdullah in a statement this evening said there will no direct or transit flights from countries with confirmed Omicron cases.
He said Malaysians and foreigners with Permanent Resident status returning from countries with confirmed Omicron cases must go through the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) before being allowed to enter Langkawi under the programme.
"Residents of Langkawi who have travelled to any of the 26 countries listed over the last 14 days or transited in any of the countries must only use KLIA.
"They are not allowed to enter Langkawi directly and they too must undergo the 14-day compulsory quarantine at designated centres before being allowed to enter Langkawi," he said.
Among the countries which are subjected to the new travel bubble restrictions are the United Kingdom, Portugal, the Netherlands, Australia, Canada, South Korea, Hong Kong SAR, China, Israel, Italy, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Nigeria, Belgium, Japan, Brazil, Norway, Czech Republic, Reunion Island, Austria, Spain, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Ireland, the United Arab Emirates and California in the United States.
Dr Noor Hisham said all these locales have had at least one confirmed Covid-19 Omicron variant case so far.
Yesterday, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said tourists who have a travel history to high-risk countries within 14 days were also subjected to the restriction.
"The measures are precautionary. This is a temporary measure to ensure our people are safe. That restriction is not meant to punish any country," he was quoted as saying.