Malaysia opens separate corridor for immigration screening from China

Malaysia has decided to open a special passageway for travelers from China. In order to prevent the re-spread of the COVID-19 virus infection that originated in China, the intention is to proceed with the quarantine inspection separately from general tourists. With South Korea and Japan restricting Chinese immigration and China taking retaliatory measures, attention will be paid to how Malaysia will respond.

According to Bloomberg News on January 10th (local time), Malaysian Health Ministry Director-General Abdullah said at a briefing on the same day that he would open and operate a special passage for travelers from China at the international immigration counter.

All Chinese travelers entering Malaysia must undergo a fever test, and if they are suspected of having the COVID-19 virus infection, they must undergo a throat (nostril) swab test and a rapid antigen test. not. Those who test positive will either be quarantined in a dormitory or treated at a hospital, depending on the severity of their symptoms.

In 2019, before the COVID-19 virus pandemic, the Chinese were the third largest number of foreigners visiting Malaysia. About 3.1 million people accounted for 12% of the total foreign tourists (26.1 million).

According to the Malaysian Ministry of Health, 4,096 people have entered Malaysia since January 8th when China reopened the border. There are no confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 virus infection yet.

"Currently, we are concerned about (entering) not only China but also other countries such as the United States and Japan, where cases of infection are increasing" Abdullah stressed. "We are monitoring it."