Travel ban to 7 African countries over new Covid variant concerns

COVID-19 | Starting tomorrow (Nov 27), Malaysia will temporarily ban travel to South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, and Zimbabwe due to concerns about the new B.1.1.529 Covid-19 variant.

This means Malaysians will not be allowed to travel to these countries for the foreseeable future.

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin also announced that the government will ban arrivals by non-citizens who have travelled to those countries in the past 14 days.

Malaysian citizens and permanent resident pass holders arriving from the seven countries will be able to enter subject to quarantine rules.

“They have to undergo compulsory quarantine for 14 days at a quarantine station regardless of vaccination status.

“And they are not allowed to undergo home quarantine,” Khairy said in a broadcasted press conference this evening.

They will also have their swab samples taken for genomic sequencing purposes.

The minister did not state how long these restrictions will be in force.

No cases in Malaysia

B.1.1.529 has been described as the “most heavily mutated” Covid-19 variant discovered thus far.

It was detected in Botswana and South Africa earlier this month. Two confirmed cases have since been discovered in Hong Kong.

Khairy confirmed today that no such cases have been detected in Malaysia as of Nov 26.

Little is known about the B.1.1.529 variant’s transmissibility or effect on vaccine efficacy.

The World Health Organisation has categorised it as a Variant Under Monitoring (VOM) but has yet to give it a name. 

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