18 countries classified as high-risk, people told to postpone travel

Omicron: 18 countries classified as high-risk, people told to postpone travel

28/12/2021 11:40 PM

PUTRAJAYA, Dec 28  -- Eighteen countries have now been classified as high-risk countries following the spread of the Omicron variant, said Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

He said this came after the Malaysian government lifted temporary travel restrictions against eight countries, namely South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Malawi.

"All eight countries are now included in the list of high-risk countries, bringing the total number to 18," he said at a press conference here today.

Khairy said the Ministry of Health (MOH) advised Malaysians to postpone their travel to these high-risk countries including the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Norway, France, Denmark, India, Canada and Nigeria.

Meanwhile, Khairy said the Institute for Medical Research (IMR) had conducted a PCR Genotyping Assay test on 366 samples of COVID-19 positive cases among travellers from Dec 21 to 25.

"Of that number, a total of 306 samples indicates possible (presumptive) Omicron variant and are currently awaiting whole-genome sequencing results," he said.

-- BERNAMA