LABUAN, Sept 3 — The National Security Council (MKN) has approved the relaxations on the mandatory quarantine for individuals and ship crew entering Labuan proposed by Labuan Disaster Management Committee (DMC).
Labuan DMC chairman Rithuan Ismail said the newly-adjusted standard operating procedures (SOPs) for quarantine had taken effect since Sept 1.
“The relaxations (were proposed) after taking into consideration various factors including Labuan’s high vaccination rate for its adult population,” he told Bernama today.
He said Labuan residents and Malaysians residing in Labuan whose Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) tests is negative would only need to be quarantined for five days.
The test result is only valid for three days.
“For government servants wanting to enter Labuan for a three-day official duty, they can apply for a green bubble SOPs, while Labuan residents travelling outside of Labuan for official matters are not required to undergo quarantine (upon returning), provided that their RT-PCR results are still valid,” he said.
Rithuan said Labuan residents, Malaysians residing in Labuan and government servants who have not received their vaccination would need to undergo a 10-day quarantine period upon their arrival and take the RTK-Antigen tests on the eighth day.
On the SOPs for ship crew, he said they are encouraged to get vaccinated and undergo RT-PCR tests at the last port of call before departure.
“Shipowners operating in domestic waters must declare that their crew are free from COVID-19 symptoms within 14 days, and within 21 days for ships operating in international waters,” he said.
He said no restrictions are imposed on the sign on and sign off of Malaysian crew working on Malaysian registered vessels.
“There will be no quarantine order to arriving crew provided that their RT-PCR test results return negative,” he added.
Meanwhile, Rithuan said ships from India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are still banned from entering Labuan.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency