Minister: The Government Will Review Blanket Ban To Ease Travel Restrictions From Foreign Countries

The government said that they will continue to review and monitor the blanket ban imposed from time to time to allow entry from foreign countries in a targeted manner using the concept of travel bubble.

Datuk Seri Mohd Redzuan Md Yusof, the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Special Duties) said the restriction on the entry of foreigners was made based on the risk matrix scoring schedule which could give rise to the risk of Covid-19 cases in Malaysia as reported by Astro Awani.

He said in the parliament session today, the criteria taken in the calculation of this risk matrix including the number of COVID-19 cases in the last 14 days, the incidence rate per million people in the last 14 days, the last 14 days mortality per million population, case mortality rate and the recovery index.

He said this while answering a question from Dr Ong Kian Ming (DAP-Bangi) who asked about the blanket ban policy implemented in September for all citizens from countries with COVID-19 cases which have reached 150,000 cases including those with valid entry permits.

Mohd Redzuan imposed the ban last September as an immediate measure. At that time, the government did not have enough data on the situation and COVID-19 epidemic control methods in foreign countries.

Therefore, the government took this restrictive measure to protect Malaysians due to concerns over the increase in cases abroad and the risk of infection within our country.

On 10 September 2020, the government decided that EP 1 category expatriate pass holders and technical experts or foreign skilled workers from 23 countries subject to entry restrictions be allowed to enter Malaysia.

However, he said that they are required to submit an application from the Immigration Department and need to submit supporting documents from MIDA, relevant ministries or agencies. They are also subject to the terms of quarantine for 14 days at the quarantine centre provided by the government.

Also Read: Countries That Handled Covid-19 Well Now Facing Second Wave For Easing Restrictions Too Early