“Those who are found to be feverish, symptomatic or have self-declared (Covid-19 symptoms) will be referred to a quarantine centre, or to the health authorities for further checks,” its minister, Dr Zaliha Mustafa, said.

At the same time, all those with a history of travelling to China within 14 days of their arrival will be required to undergo an RTK-Antigen test, and samples will be sent for genome testing if they are positive for Covid-19, she said.

This also applies to those who have close contact with individuals who have travelled to China within 14 days, or exhibit influenza-like illnesses (ILI) or severe acute respiratory infection (SARI).

Zaliha said the measures were part of Malaysia’s increased surveillance for Covid-19 in the community, and monitoring for new variants.

“For this purpose, ILI samples will be sent to the National Public Health Laboratory while SARI samples will be sent to the Institute for Medical Research (IMR),” she said.

The ministry would also run PCR tests on sewage samples from aircraft coming from China, which would be sent for genome sequencing if they were found to be positive.

Yesterday, transport minister Loke Siew Fook said Malaysia would see a surge in flight demand following the reopening of China’s borders on Jan 8, three years after the start of the pandemic.

On May 1, Malaysia scrapped mandatory testing on all incoming vaccinated travellers. The wearing of masks indoors was optional, except on public transport and in health facilities, while social distancing measures were no longer applicable.

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