COVID: 14-day quarantine for returnees from countries with reported VOC

KUALA LUMPUR: Travellers returning from countries reported with the spread of variants of concern (VOC) need to go through a 14-day mandatory quarantine compared to the previous period of 10 days.

Senior Minister (Security) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said it was a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of the new COVID-19 variants in Malaysia.

“Looking at the development of several new types VOC reported in many foreign countries, it is feared that these variants may be brought in by travellers from overseas.

"These VOC can cause rapid transmission, infections with severe symptoms and complications, reduce effectiveness of protection through vaccination, and difficulty in detecting infections through certain lab tests,” he said in a statement today.

The World Health Organisation had currently identified three variants of concern, namely the B.1.351 variant first reported in South Africa, the B.1.1.7 variant first reported in the UK and the B.1.1.28 or P1 first reported in Brazil and Japan.

-- BERNAMA