AMN/ WEB DESK
Malaysia has temporarily banned the entry of travelers from countries that have reported the Omicron COVID-19 variant. The Southeast Asian nation joins countries around the world that have limited travel from southern Africa, where the variant, believed to be the most contagious yet, was first detected.
Malaysia health minister Khairy Jamaluddin said, the travel ban applies to eight African countries, including South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi, but could be extended to other nations where the variant has been detected, such as Britain and the Netherlands.
Malaysia will also delay plans to set up so-called Vaccinated Travel Lanes (VTL) with the affected countries, and reimpose quarantine requirements for Malaysian citizens and long-term residents returning from those nations, regardless of their vaccination status.