COMMENT | Context matters in quarantining fully-vaxxed travelers
COLUMN | WTF! Wow, that's funny. No, not of the ‘ha-ha’ type, but ‘alamak’ when I read the Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin’s latest quarantine rule for inbound travellers.
For some time now, I have hoped to visit KL. The bane of a prepaid hotel quarantine package, travel pass and multiple documentations pushed my plan to the backburner.
I am immunised with Astra, boostered with Pfizer with no history of Covid-related health issues.
But, according to Khairy, I still pose a higher risk of passing on Covid than those who are fully immunised and have recovered from an infection two months prior.
Therefore, I must quarantine for seven days after arrival at KLIA.
If that’s not counter-intuitive, it is certainly confounding.
Khairy’s riddling ruling is reportedly based on “scientific data and evidence as well as the experience of other countries”.
So, let’s look at a sample of how other countries have managed their quarantine requirements...
COLUMN | WTF! Wow, that's funny. No, not of the ‘ha-ha’ type, but ‘alamak’ when I read the Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin’s latest quarantine rule for inbound travellers.
For some time now, I have hoped to visit KL. The bane of a prepaid hotel quarantine package, travel pass and multiple documentations pushed my plan to the backburner.
I am immunised with Astra, boostered with Pfizer with no history of Covid-related health issues.
But, according to Khairy, I still pose a higher risk of passing on Covid than those who are fully immunised and have recovered from an infection two months prior.
Therefore, I must quarantine for seven days after arrival at KLIA.
If that’s not counter-intuitive, it is certainly confounding.
Khairy’s riddling ruling is reportedly based on “scientific data and evidence as well as the experience of other countries”.
So, let’s look at a sample of how other countries have managed their quarantine requirements, besides the pre-departure and on-arrival antigen or PCR tests.
Consider this: If I were to depart Sydney for Singapore after January 20, I can “use the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) to enter … without quarantine, but with mandatory regular testing”.
If I were to travel to England, I must be PCR-negative before departure and do a follow-up PCR-test within two days of my arrival at Heathrow. If the result is positive, I must self-isolate (at home) for seven days. Otherwise, no quarantine.
With my visit to the Czech Republic at the end of January, I must present a pre-departure negative PCR test result. This applies to all vaccinated persons and those who have recovered from Covid-19 in the last six months. No quarantine.
Public interest takes second row
The Worldometer of Covid cases shows that the infectivity rates and related deaths are in a constant state of flux – hence, the growing weariness of frequent travellers with the ever-changing public health pronouncements.
Given the unpredictability of new variants prolonging the pandemic that no modelling can project when it will end, governments are constantly juggling the socioeconomic fallouts and political costs of lockdowns and closed borders.
Economics ultimately trump governmental decisions even as politics preside over Covid rules. Public interest takes the second row.
Which is where I am at a loss in following Khairy’s Covid-containment strategies, with daily cases still hovering around the 3,000 mark despite his well-meant attempts to lead with SOP mnemonics – the latest being TRIIS (test, report, isolate, inform and seek).
The Australian Commonwealth, with its separate federal, state and territory rules and travel requirements, is currently fixing its Covid conundrum, which has been complicated by the government’s cancellation of anti-vaxxer Novak Djokovic’s entry visa “in the public interest”.
Nonetheless, travellers should be prepared for entry requirements to change with changing Covid circumstances, which at times make little sense, like Khairy’s new criteria for quarantine free entry.
Without much context or crystal clear explanation of how the Health Ministry (MOH) arrived at the arbitrary period of between 11-60 days of infection of those who are fully vaccinated before departure to enter Malaysia quarantine free, Khairy raises more questions than assurance.
Why not 10, 90 or 120 days?
Context and clarity matter
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the level of protection from having Covid “varies depending on how mild or severe their illness was, the time since their infection, and their age … no currently available test can reliably determine if a person is protected from infection”.
Even Dr Anthony Fauci is uncertain how long one’s natural immunity against Covid will last after recovery from an infection.
If Khairy had explained in simple terms the epidemiological grounds for fully vaccinated individuals who were not previously infected to undergo mandatory quarantine, his ruling would have been better received, understood and respectfully followed. Context and clarity matter more than muddling mnemonics.
Khairy’s initiative gave me a glint of hope that I could “balik kampung” with not much hassle. Instead, it adds another tier of confusion to the ministry’s Covid portal, which is currently running wild with gaudy infographics, unreadable fonts, and information overload on each screen.
Here, I defer to a more user-friendly Sherpa guide for a quick overview of world travel requirements before I navigate through the ambiguous language and convoluted structure inherent in government Covid portals, such as our own MOH and Immigration Department.
ERIC LOO is the founding editor of the academic journal Asia Pacific Media Educator.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.
