The Malaysian Insight

The Health Ministry must provide fact- and science-based proof to support the removal of mandatory quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated international travellers who have recovered from Covid-19, said health professionals.

They said this is the only way to convince people that the decision is safe, considering that these travellers may risk importing Omicron into Malaysia.

However, other experts said tourists who have recovered from the coronavirus pose no threat to public health as they have been cleared of the infection.

Malaysian Public Health Physicians’ Association president Dr Mohamed Rusli Abdullah said Putrajaya has to make public data on how it comes up with health decisions.

“The best way forward is to make that evidence accessible to academics, experts, frontliners, specialists and some industrial players, so they can understand the decision and play their part in supporting it,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

“This is especially important when the standard operating procedure and policy change are so dynamic; most of the time, a new policy is introduced before people can fully grasp the previous one.”

It is also pertinent that health decisions are continuously studied to ensure the country is on the right track, he added.

“Local epidemiological and clinical surveillance data and external data must be continuously and dynamically analysed to ensure we are adopting the correct approach relevant to our situation.”

As Malaysia does not have enough information about the local spread of the Omicron variant, Dr Rusli said the country cannot make an informed decision.

“Omicron can pose a problem, more so as we do not fully understand its local clinical and epidemiological behaviour.

“Some experts believe that if the variant continues to rapidly spread in the community but maintains its mild clinical presentations, it can boost natural immunity against the coronavirus.

However, he added, this has yet to be confirmed pending more information.

Fully vaccinated travellers who have recovered from Covid-19 no longer need to undergo quarantine upon arrival in Malaysia from January 13.

But they must take an RTK-Antigen test in the presence of government or private healthcare staff stationed at international entry points.

Putrajaya last week again revised quarantine requirements for vaccinated and unvaccinated travellers entering the country, causing confusion among the public.

Currently, fully vaccinated travellers with boosters need to isolate for only five days. Fully vaccinated travellers yet to get their third jabs need to isolate for seven days, while those unvaccinated or yet to complete their vaccination must isolate for 10 days.

Sending mixed messages

Public health expert Dr Zainal Ariffin Omar said the recent quarantine rules are sending mixed messages on the risk of Omicron being imported by inbound travellers.

“Not sure what the government’s direction is. It is quite a mixed message about the risk of Omicron imported by incoming travellers.”

While fully vaccinated folk who have contracted and recovered from Covid-19 are somewhat shielded from the virus, he said there is no guarantee that the virus will not be transmitted among the masses.

“The Health Ministry has even stated that people can still be infected with or transmit the Omicron variant. So, the risk of Omicron is real without isolation.

“Quarantine is still the best, but the economic and cost implications may be another factor in the government’s decision.”

Dr Malina Othman, on the other hand, said there is no cause for concern in allowing fully vaccinated international travellers who have recovered from Covid-19 to enter sans isolation.

“The quarantine period is based on scientific findings,” said the biostatistician and epidemiologist at University Putra Malaysia.

“As we have vaccines and faster and better self-testing kits, the understanding related to the quarantine period is much clearer now compared with the earlier period of the pandemic.

“Research has confirmed that a fully inoculated individual who was infected (and already cleared from the infection) will not pose a threat to the public.”

Malaysia has seen a climb in Covid-19 cases in the past few days, with the country logging about 3,000 cases a day for several months.

The infectivity rate has also been steadily rising since January 19, when it stood at 1.0. On January 28, it increased to 1.15. – January 31, 2022.