Portal to speed up quarantine process
Travellers can apply for home quarantine online
SEPANG: Travellers arriving in Malaysia who wish to undergo home quarantine can now apply online at a new portal set up by the Health Ministry that will simplify the entire process.
The Home Quarantine Application (HQA) Portal can be accessed at https://ecovid19.moh. gov.my/outbreak-portal-hqa from today.
Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, who announced this, said previously, those who wished to apply for home quarantine would have had to make a request to the ministry via email.
However, since the government allowed travellers who have completed their vaccination to undergo home quarantine upon arrival, the number of requests had surged.
In a Twitter post, Khairy described the email method as “a Jurassic process”.
“Unsurprisingly, we have a backlog of 6,000 applications sent via email, and this method takes time.
“So, we have decided to simplify this, and now, returnees who wish to apply for home quarantine can do so from the new portal.
“The application needs to be done seven to 10 days before your arrival date in Malaysia,” he told reporters during a visit to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) here yesterday.
He said among the requirements for those who wish to do home quarantine is that their residence must be considered suitable for isolation.
“There needs to be enough rooms and toilets, which will ensure that the person under quarantine does not have contact with other members of the family,” he added.
By allowing more travellers to undergo home quarantine, Khairy said the country could gradually move away from its current practice of isolating individuals at hotels.
“We do not need to use quarantine centres and travellers do not need to spend money for their hotel stay.
“This is part of the country’s plan to reopen safely,” he added.
Earlier, Khairy observed the process flow for inbound travellers at KLIA, including the health screening process at the terminal.
He was also given a tour of the new private health screening centre at KLIA managed by BP Clinical Lab, where passengers can get Covid-19 test results in a shorter turnaround time.
On Covid-19 vaccine booster shots, Khairy said healthy people were not priority recipients.
“Booster shots should only be given to those who should have it. I am young and have no comorbidities, so I should not be taking the booster shot because I’ll be taking a vaccine meant for somebody else.
“Boosters are for people who are elderly and immunocompromised. It is not for healthy people, and we will not recommend it for them right now,” he added.