Smoother Covid-19 screening at KLIA, but some still wait for hours

COVID-19 | Malaysia Airport Holdings Berhad and the Health Ministry have worked to improve the Covid-19 screening process for travellers originating from Sabah.

Malaysiakini observed that the process had gone smoothly for a flight that departed from Tawau and landed at Kuala Lumpur International Airport at about 2.30pm yesterday.

Prior to departure, passengers were asked to fill up two forms – one for Covid-19 testing and one for a Home Surveillance Order.

Upon arrival and disembarkation from the aircraft, auxiliary police personnel instructed passengers to scan a QR code using the MySejahtera app, which prompted another form to appear that passengers were required to fill.

Passengers were given some time to fill the form in a waiting area.

Those who completed the form would be taken through a special lane by auxiliary police to a testing area, which was located at the immigration counters for the international arrival hall.

Early birds were at an advantage here, since those who reached the testing area before the other passengers found the process to be quick and smooth.

In contrast to the media reports and personal accounts published on social media on Sunday, there were about 10 Health Ministry officials clad in personal protective equipment to facilitate the testing and documentation.

When passengers arrived at the testing area, they were directed to a desk where several officers checked their documents, after which they proceeded to another counter to have their swab samples taken.

Once the samples were taken, passengers were directed to yet another desk for a second round of document verification. There was a brief wait as each name was called.

At the next desk, a health officer explained the quarantine process and passengers could ask questions before donning a pink wristband.

Passengers who were continuing the journey home by public transport would have to fill an additional form, which was the “permission letter to take public transport”, which was only valid on the day it was issued.

Early in the process, when passengers filled up online forms in the waiting area, MAHB staff were on hand to distribute refreshments in the form of bread and bottled water to passengers.

Once testing was completed, passengers were again offered food and snacks as they left the testing area to collect their baggage.

This was in contrast to the situation on Sunday when passengers complained of being left hungry as they waited for their turn to get tested.

For the fortunate few who managed to leave the waiting area ahead of other passengers, the entire process could be completed in under an hour.

Nevertheless, some passengers still found themselves waiting for a long time to get tested.

Malaysiakini observed that the process was largely the same for a Sandakan flight that arrived at KLIA about 4.45pm yesterday, except that the passengers were split into two groups.

The second group was asked to wait for their turn, and the process dragged on for almost four hours.

The passengers spent most of their time idling in the waiting area, for over two hours. Once this group was called to proceed to the testing area though, the process sped up and they were done in less than an hour.

To help pass the time, amenities such as seats, charging stations for phones, and food were made available.

However, compliance with mask-wearing could be improved, as some passengers were seen lowering their masks during the long wait, and children could be seen running around with no masks at all.

When asked, a Health Ministry official on duty explained that the waiting time depended on the number of flights arriving at any given time.

The official said that after 3pm, the ministry would increase their number of staff to handle the busier flight schedules in the evening, which nevertheless still resulted in a longer wait.

The procedures for passengers arriving from Sabah were different from those arriving from overseas, in that those from Sabah were not required to undergo a 14-day quarantine.

Instead, they only need to be quarantined until their Covid-19 test results are ready, before heading to the nearest health office to remove the pink wristband and be discharged from quarantine.

It is understood that this test result will take three to five days to be ready.

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