Citing Wuhan lockdown and WHO, DPM says no need to bar China tourists
CORONAVIRUS | The current situation concerning the novel coronavirus is under control and Putrajaya will continue to allow the entry of China tourists into Malaysia, said Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.
"We take into consideration what the World Health Organisation said. (We) haven't reached that level (to bar entry of tourists) yet...
CORONAVIRUS | The current situation concerning the novel coronavirus is under control and Putrajaya will continue to allow the entry of China tourists into Malaysia, said Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.
"We take into consideration what the World Health Organisation said. (We) haven't reached that level (to bar entry of tourists) yet.
"China has also blocked the travel of tourists from Wuhan, and Airasia has stopped flights from Wuhan following the lockdown (imposed by Beijing)," she said at a press conference after chairing a novel coronavirus cluster coordination meeting in Putrajaya today.
Wan Azizah added that all entry and exit points into the country will be closely monitored where all flight passengers including Malaysians coming from China will have to undergo screening tests.
China has put 13 cities including Wuhan - the origin point for the new coronavirus - under lockdown to keep the disease contained.
About 56 million people are reported to be under the lockdown orders.
However, there are concerns that tourists from China will spread the disease further in Malaysia.
An online petition to bar Chinese tourists from entering Malaysia has picked up some 300,000 signatures.
Thus far, the four confirmed cases of novel coronavirus in Malaysia are of China nationals.
Read more: New coronavirus outbreak: Here’s what we know so far
Meanwhile, Wan Azizah advised the people against spreading fake news and create unrest situation in regard to the coronavirus cluster.
"Malaysia has done well in tackling Sars, Nipah, and Ebola. It shows that we have the capacity to take care of ourselves.
"Please don't spread fake news, instil fear and give a certain perception to create unrest situation," she said.
Earlier, Wan Azizah chaired the meeting at about 4pm which took two hours.
Also present were Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad, Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh, Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah, Health director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah, Immigration director-general Khairul Dzaimee Daud, and the National Disaster Management Agency director-general Mohtar Mohd Abdul Rahman.
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