PETALING JAYA: Malaysia must be prepared to receive an influx of Chinese visitors in 10 days following China lifting travel restrictions for their citizens, says Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.
The Ayer Hitam MP said Malaysia must relook at our policy in regard to tourist arrivals especially from countries facing surges in Covid-19 cases.
He said even European countries were holding strategy sessions to discuss how to handle arrivals while the United States was requiring arrivals from China to show negative Covid tests.
“The Health Ministry must take steps against risks of having a sudden surge during and after the Chinese New Year season.
“I hope the newly appointed Health Minister will seriously look into it. Kindly revisit the health protocol if necessary.
“We will leave it to the ministry’s experts to make the right decision based on data & sciences. At the same time, the country simply cannot resort to more MCO-style lockdowns,” he said.
China has announced that starting Jan 8, it would allow outbound tourism for its citizens in an orderly manner starting with a pilot scheme.