Previously, the mandatory quarantine period was only for 14 days.

Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the passengers, comprising 117 Malaysian citizens and six dependents, one permanent resident and eight Brunei nationals will have to take the RT-PCR test.

Putrajaya decided to repatriate Malaysians and Brunei nationals following the recent surge of Covid-19 cases in India, which recently recorded more than 300,000 new infections daily since April.

“The ministry will continue to monitor the situation and will conduct a risk assessment to extend the quarantine period to 21 days for all those flying in from India,” he said in a statement.

Noor Hisham added that the ban for foreign passengers from India still remains.

He went on to call on Malaysians to give their full cooperation to contain the new Covid-19 variant, the Indian (B.1.617.1) strain.

“This variant spreads easily and the symptoms are worse for those below 50.”

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