Anwar: Umrah returnees subject to costly hotel quarantine
PKR president Anwar Ibrahim has urged Putrajaya to address the prohibitive cost of hotel quarantine among those returning to the country after performing the umrah.
In a statement, Anwar said there have been complaints that some pilgrims had to face large hotel bills as home quarantine was not an option.
"This will...
PKR president Anwar Ibrahim has urged Putrajaya to address the prohibitive cost of hotel quarantine among those returning to the country after performing the umrah.
In a statement, he said there have been complaints that some pilgrims had to face large hotel bills as home quarantine was not an option.
"This will burden them. The government must resolve this issue soon," Anwar added.
Putrajaya has made it mandatory for umrah pilgrims to undergo quarantine for seven days upon returning from their pilgrimage to Mecca.
This followed the revelation that the vast majority of imported Covid-19 cases last month were attributed to those who had travelled to Saudi Arabia.
Those under quarantine will only be released on the eighth day if there is no quarantine extension and the Covid-19 RT-PCR test result on the fifth day is negative.
Putrajaya has also barred travel for umrah effective Jan 8.
In a related development, Bernama reported that the cabinet will hold a special meeting tomorrow to discuss the suspension of umrah travel, where Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin is expected to table a detailed report on the issue.
Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob reportedly told the media of this today when asked about the latest developments on the suspension.
The report does not state what aspect of the suspension will be discussed, or whether the cost of quarantine is on the agenda.
New Covid-19 mandates for overseas travel have been implemented over fears of the spread of the Omicron variant, which is supposed to be more contagious.
Although initial reports have suggested that the Omicron variant is less deadly, a spike in infections can overwhelm hospitals.
Currently, France, Spain, the US, and the UK are all seeing a fresh spike in the hospitalisation of Covid-19 patients.
