As people get ready to travel to meet family and friends for Chinese New Year and return to hometowns they have not visited for almost two years, health and safety must still be a top concern.
Some countries have conditionally opened borders to fully vaccinated travellers with precautionary and control measures that are intended to prevent and curb the spread of COVID-19, especially the latest Omicron variant.
Fully vaccinated travellers (people who have completed two doses of their primary series of vaccination) travelling between Malaysia and Singapore may do so through three travel schemes and must adhere to certain COVID-19 testing requirements.
Fully-vaccinated travellers using any of these travel schemes must undergo additional COVID-19 tests before and for six days after arriving in Malaysia:
- Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) by air and land
- Langkawi International Travel Bubble (LITB)
- One Stop Centre (OSC) for short-term business visitors
Travellers are not required to quarantine. However, you are encouraged to stay home or in your hotel as much as possible until the six days are over and you have not tested positive for COVID-19.
What tests should I take?
Two days before departure:
- VTL Air travellers – RT-PCR test
- VTL Land travellers – RTK-Ag (professional) test at Larkin Sentral Bus Terminal Johor Baru
Over the course of the six days:
Day 1 (upon arrival)
For asymptomatic travellers – RT-PCR
Travellers with mild symptoms – RTK-Ag or RT-PCR COVID1-9 test
Day 2
Self-administered RTK-Ag test (at-home saliva test)
Day 3
Professionally administered or verified RTK-Ag test
Day 4
Self-administered RTK-Ag test (at-home saliva test)
Day 5
Professionally administered or verified RTK-Ag test
Day 6
Self-administered RTK-Ag test (at-home saliva test)
The professionally administered or verified tests will be uploaded into SIMKA (Sistem Informasi Makmal Kesihatan Awam) – the national public health information system. Some clinics that are equipped with telemedicine facilities allow patients to administer the test themselves while being observed by a doctor online. The doctor will then verify the test results and upload the relevant data into SIMKA.
All results must also be reported through Malaysia’s COVID-19 tracing app MySejahtera.
While meeting friends and family after a long separation will be a wonderful and exciting experience, you should be mindful of your own safety and the safety of your loved ones. Most people will be fully vaccinated but children under 12 years old and immunocompromised people will not have been vaccinated and be vulnerable to the virus. Elderly people who are fully vaccinated and who have received their boosters must still take precautions to not expose themselves to the virus.
Stay safe and happy travels!