THE Health Ministry is looking for 63 individuals who were under home quarantine but have gone off the radar.

Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said they were supposed to take a Covid-19 test for a second time but have gone missing.

He said the police were not looking for them.

“The ministry is cooperating with the police to monitor those undergoing quarantine at home.

“This involves the police going to their residences to check if they are following the standard operating procedures (SOPs) that have been set for home quarantine.

“So far, 63 have gone missing. We will track them down with the help of the police,” he told a press conference in Putrajaya today.

He added that people have started taking the Covid-19 situation for granted, and that carelessness and failure to follow SOPs are why the number of cases are increasing.

He said even those in home quarantine are negligent about following SOPs.

“The issue here is not the home quarantine but the failure to follow the SOP. They are supposed to be at home, but they are mixing with family members and, if they are positive, they can infect them,” he said.

Earlier, Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob had said Putrajaya is reimposing mandatory quarantine on those entering the country effective Friday. 

He said the decision was made following a spike in Covid-19 infections over the last week, with many of them being imported cases.

“Those entering Malaysia will be immediately sent to quarantine centres.” – July 21, 2020.