Covid-19: Pakistan, India added to Malaysia’s entry ban list

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia on Monday restricted the entry of people from 23 countries, including Pakistan in a bid to slow the spread of coronavirus.

The announcement came from Malaysia’s immigration department on social media after the country reported over 150,000 COVID-19 cases.

The ban includes citizens from the US, Brazil, France, the UK, Spain, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

Authorities reported 62 new coronavirus cases on Monday, the sharpest spike since early June, just as the government began barring long-term immigration pass holders from countries with high infection numbers.

Monday’s new infections were the largest since June 4, when 277 cases and one death were reported.

Last week, health director-general, Noor Hisham Abdullah, told a press conference that the infectivity rate of Covid-19 has increased in Malaysia, stressing an urgent need to continue tightening border controls. He also noted that the majority of coronavirus cases reported in Malaysia lately were imported cases, amid a global surge.

The ministry is expecting an exponential surge in Covid-19 cases in the months of November and December, following full winter in the northern hemisphere.