Three-day quarantine for ministers only allowed if certain criteria met, says Health DG

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 9): Cabinet ministers returning from official visits abroad are allowed to shorten their self-isolation to three days, only if they meet certain criteria, said Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah (pictured).

“All ministers who travel overseas for official matters must submit applications to seek approval. From there, we will look into their schedule and standard operating procedures and official duties involved,” Dr Noor Hisham said in a press conference today.

He said another criterion is that the schedule must be short and does not involve public places.

A further requirement is that the ministers must have travelled via private jet. Ministers travelling on commercial jets will not qualify for the three-day quarantine period.

“If they do not follow the guidelines, they are subject to the 10-day quarantine rule,” said Noor Hisham.

Currently, Malaysia enforces a 10-day mandatory quarantine requirement for air travellers, both international or domestic.

A federal gazette signed by Minister of Health Datuk Seri Adham Baba, which came into effect today, states that  ministers returning from any official overseas visit will need to be under observation for three days or undergo supervision until they can be released without endangering the public.

Noor Hisham, however, said that under Section 29 of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988, ministers can only be exempted from the full mandatory quarantine requirement, if they would not jeopardise the public health.

“If we read Section 29, any Cabinet minister who returns from abroad official visit shall undergo observation for three days or undergo surveillance until being discharged without danger to the public.”

“So, the ‘or’ in Section 29 could refer to seven days, 10 days, 14 days or even extend to 21 days,” he said. 

Meanwhile, Malaysia reported today 2,764 newly-confirmed Covid-19 infected individuals today, ending almost a month-streak where new infections breached beyond the 3,000 mark.

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