KUALA LUMPUR: Senior Minister for Security Ismail Sabri Yaakob confirmed today that the country’s international borders will remain closed, except for emergency cases.
With the recent spread of Covid-19 infections in various countries, Ismail said now was not the time for the government to declare any “green travel bubbles”.
The “green travel bubble” countries are those with a low number of Covid-19 cases.
“Before this, the government had allowed the entry of people from six countries: Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Brunei.
“But the Covid-19 situation (in some of these countries) has changed,” he said, adding that there had been a surge of cases in Australia and Japan since the suggestion was first made.
“We are still monitoring it, and will be having discussions with the foreign affairs ministry, but now is not the time to announce anything.”
Ismail also announced that the enhanced movement control order (EMCO) in the Amber Court Apartment and Ria Apartment in Jalan Genting, Bentong, Pahang, would be extended until Jan 6.
He said the extension was on the advice of the health ministry which had detected 381 positive cases in Amber Court Apartment and still had to conduct close contact screenings in Ria Apartment.
Meanwhile, the EMCO in Rumah Kongsi Kampung Semaut, another locality in the area, will be lifted tomorrow as scheduled.
On the daily enforcement against those who committed MCO-related offences, Ismail said 122 people were arrested by police yesterday, all of whom were issued compounds.
The majority of them were punished for not wearing a mask, not practising physical distancing and taking part in activities at entertainment centres.
Authorities also detained 63 undocumented migrants and confiscated four vehicles yesterday as part of the ongoing Ops Benteng campaign.
Given Ops Benteng’s effectiveness in detecting undocumented migrants in the country, Ismail said the operation should be continued even after the pandemic was over.
He added that 493 people returned to Malaysia yesterday from various countries, all of whom are currently under mandatory quarantine.
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