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KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia said on Tuesday it would ban the entry of long-term immigration pass holders from India, Indonesia and the Philippines starting Sept. 7, in an attempt to reduce imported coronavirus cases amid a number of new clusters in the country.
Health authorities in Southeast Asia’s third-largest economy have recorded more than 9,300 cases as of Tuesday and 128 deaths, with new cases found in clusters detected in at least four states.
The entry ban on pass holders from the three countries will include permanent residents, expatriates, students and those with spouse visas and participants of Malaysia’s My Second Home program, Chief Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said.
“The decision was made on the advice of the Health Ministry to clamp down on the spread of imported COVID-19 cases,” Ismail Sabri said at a televised press conference.
India is the third most affected country by the pandemic behind the United States and Brazil, with its coronavirus count reaching nearly 3.7 million on Tuesday.
A total of 7,505 people have died from the coronavirus in Indonesia, the highest in the region, while the Philippines, which has reported more than 224,000 cases, has seen a steady rise in infections. —Report by Joseph Sipalan; Edited by Martin Petty
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