KUALA LUMPUR: International travellers who are not fully vaccinated will still have to undergo quarantine after April 1, says Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

       “Those who have yet to be fully vaccinated or are not vaccinated at all must be quarantined for five days upon arrival.

       “After that, they will be subject to local Covid-19 protocols such as not being allowed to dine in at restaurants if not fully vaccinated,” he told a press conference in Parliament here yesterday.

       The rule, however, will not apply to travellers aged below 17.

       “However, the younger ones must do Covid-19 RTK tests within 24 hours of arrival in the country,” he said, referring to professional rapid tests.

       “Adult travellers who are not vaccinated due to health reasons must show certified proof and upload it to the MySejahtera app,” he said.

       Khairy said fully vaccinated travellers arriving in the country less than a week before April 1 would still need to undergo mandatory quarantine.

       Travel SOP: Khairy announcing the quarantine details at the Parliament building while Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah looks on. — Bernama

       However, their quarantine period will end April 1, even if it is less than five days.

       “For example, if you start your quarantine on March 30, it will end on April 1,” he said.

       The protocol for travellers entering the country through land borders, he said, was still being worked out and would be announced soon.

       Khairy noted that there were those who commuted daily or several times a week over the country’s land borders with Singapore, Thailand and Brunei.

       “It would be impractical for them to do RT-PCR tests every time.

       “So, I am currently in talks with neighbouring countries as well as states with international land borders to come up with an understanding involving these periodic commuters,” he said.

       On Tuesday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that Malaysians and international travellers who were fully vaccinated would not need to undergo quarantine upon arrival in the country from April 1 onwards.

       Fully vaccinated travellers only need to undergo an RT-PCR test two days prior to their departure and an RTK test within 24 hours of their arrival.

       On the status of nightclubs in the country, Khairy clarified that they would remain closed.

       “Come April 1, there will only be one kind of premises that will stay on the negative list – nightclubs.

       “This is because of the nature of nightclubs, which are still considered high-risk,” he said.

       All other businesses will have restrictions on their operating hours lifted.

       Khairy added that the ministry had launched a portal at https://covidprotocol.moh.gov.my with details on the dos and don’ts when testing positive.