PETALING JAYA: The Health Ministry has given the green light to one-third of travellers into Malaysia from the 4,883 completed applications for home quarantine received through the Home Quarantine Application (HQA) portal.

       Its director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said it has so far approved 1,612 applications from the 4,883 complete applications received via the HQA portal, adding that it had processed 1,741 applications altogether from the portal which went live on Sept 21.

       He said that of the 5,947 individuals who made the applications, a total of 3,921 were Malaysians, followed by 1,910 non-citizens and 116 permanent residents.

       Dr Noor Hisham said the online application system was still in a trial stage and that the applications via the portal would be fully implemented from October.

       “We target more applications to be processed in less than three days after this. The system will be improved from time to time, and we would like to thank everyone for their cooperation and suggestions given,” he said in a statement on Tuesday (Sept 28).

       He also advised those who have been given the go-ahead for home quarantine to adhere to the standard operating procedures (SOP) and to be at home so that the risk of Covid-19 infection to the family and community is reduced.

       “This is very important to prevent the spread of new variants, especially the Variants of Concern (VOC) or Variants of Interest (VOI) into the country. Let us all work together to make the process of reopening safely a success,” he said. Travellers have to submit their applications between seven and 10 days before their date of arrival in Malaysia.

       Malaysia recorded 11,332 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, with the country’s cumulative total number now at 2,220,526.

       Four states reported four-digit case increases - Sarawak with 2,358 new infections, Johor (1,319), Selangor (1,231), and Kelantan (1,088).

       Of the new cases reported, 247 or 2.2% of them were in categories three, four and five.

       This means they were diagnosed with pneumonia or other severe symptoms.

       Most, or 97.8% of the new Covid-19 patients, were in category one and two (asymptomatic and mild symptoms).

       Dr Noor Hisham said that there are 986 patients in intensive care units, with 574 of them requiring ventilator support.

       There were also 15 new clusters with nine linked to the community and six linked to workplaces.