THE elderly and those with comorbidities who fall within the high-risk group can walk into any public health clinic or hospital from January 9 to receive the Covid-19 vaccine or booster shots, said Dr Zaliha Mustafa. 

The health minister said the move was to encourage those categorised as high-risk to get vaccinated. 

“These walk-ins may be done at the Health Ministry clinics and public hospitals based on the respective premises’ operating hours starting January 9, 2023. 

“It is applicable to people with comorbidities, including chronic illness patients; the elderly aged 60 and above, and individuals who are displaying symptoms and Covid-19 complications,” the health minister said in a statement today. 

She had unveiled plans to tighten Covid-19 restrictions and had announced that travellers arriving in Malaysia would have to undergo temperature checks for fever, the Health Ministry said, as worldwide concerns grew over the surge in Covid-19 cases in China. 

She said that those found running a fever or who declared they had a fever would be immediately referred to a quarantine centre for further checks by health authorities. 

She added that Malaysians with a history of travelling to China were required to undergo an RTK-Antigen test within 14 days of their arrival. 

She said samples would be sent for genome testing if any of them were positive for Covid-19. 

Zaliha added that those who had close contact with individuals who travelled to China or exhibited influenza-like illnesses or severe acute respiratory infections would also have to be tested for the virus.

Zaliha noted that as of December 28, a total of 27, 531,220 people or 84.3% of the country’s population had completed their primary Covid-19 vaccinations, and only 16,278,036 people or 49.8% received their first booster dose. 

She said only 1.9% or 626,896 individuals obtained their second booster dose. 

In light of recent developments, the health minister said that Malaysia’s status as a Covid-19 infected area would be extended until June 30 next year, after being slated to end on Saturday. 

Malaysia has seen a decline in the Covid-19 daily infection rates since the start of December. 

The country reported 679 new cases today. – December 30, 2022.