Labuan takes extra precautions on return of Umrah pilgrims

Labuan Health Department director Dr Ismuni Bohari said the Umrah pilgrims are required to undergo the mandatory polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test before returning to Labuan.

"Umrah pilgrims are required to undergo COVID-19 screening upon arrival from performing the Umrah pilgrimage, and they will be required to wear digital tracking devices throughout their home surveillance and quarantine periods," he told Bernama today.

Dr Ismuni said the home-quarantine order could be cancelled and replaced with hotel-quarantine if the houses of the pilgrims are not conducive for quarantine.

"Our healthcare personnel will visit and conduct the necessary checks at their houses, if it fulfills requirements, we will allow them to undergo home quarantine, if not, they will have to undergo it in a hotel," he said.

Dr Ismuni said healthcare personnel are on standby at the Labuan Airport and at the two ferry terminals to monitor the inflow of Umrah pilgrims to the duty-free island.

Prior to this, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin had said that travellers arriving from Saudi Arabia would be required to wear digital tracking devices throughout their home surveillance and quarantine periods.

He said this was considering the increasing spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant in Malaysia, with most cases involving individuals who returned from their Umrah pilgrimage in the kingdom.

He also said that 10 countries have been identified as high-risk COVID-19 countries - the United Kingdom, United States, Denmark, Australia, France, Norway, Canada, India, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia - which would require returnees to wear the tracking devices.

This, he said, was imperative to control the spread of the coronavirus as the ministry found that some of the individuals allowed to undergo home quarantine failed to comply with the directive, whereby they mingled with family members and even received guests while under quarantine.