‘Observe strict isolation at home’

Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob is urging Malaysians who return from overseas to self-quarantine by confining themselves in a room and not interact with family members.

Malaysians returning from overseas who have to undergo self-quarantine should confine themselves in their room, says Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

They should not mingle with their family members as a precautionary measure, he said.

“Please stay in your room, do not go out and watch TV in the living room, for example, and do not move freely around the house because you could infect others.

“Food and drinks,” he said, “can be left outside their room.”

Although those who return from overseas could test negative in the first screening, they still needed to be tested on the 13th day, he said.

“Only those who test negative on the 13th day are deemed completely free of the virus,” he said in his daily briefing yesterday.

Since June 10, the government has allowed Malaysians returning from abroad to self-isolate at home instead of staying at government-gazetted quarantine stations.

Ismail Sabri also said that on June 12, a total of 478 Malaysians returned home via KL International Airport from Singapore, UAE, China, Bangladesh, Hong Kong, Egypt, India, Indonesia and Brunei.

“From this number, 475 individuals have to undergo home quarantine while three were sent to hospital, which means they tested positive for Covid-19,” he said.

He said 270 people who arrived at the entry points in Johor had been instructed to self-quarantine.

Ismail Sabri reminded Malaysians that they would be issued a RM1,000 compound or be brought to court if they breached the standard operating procedure.