Malaysia drops 6-day Covid-19 test requirement for Singapore VTL

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia has dropped a requirement for inbound travellers to undergo Covid-19 RTK-Ag tests within six days of arrival under three programmes, which include the air and land vaccinated travel lane (VTL) with Singapore.

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said in a statement on Monday (Feb 28) that the new procedure - starting from Thursday - will also apply to travellers entering Malaysia via the Langkawi International Tourism Bubble (LITB) and One Stop Centre (OSC) for short-term business visitors, the Bernama news agency reported.

Currently, under these three programmes, travellers will have to take a Covid-19 RTK-Ag test on the second, fourth and sixth day after arriving in Malaysia.

The requirement for travellers under the LITB programme to undergo the Covid-19 RT-PCR or RTK-Ag (professional) before leaving Langkawi will also be removed.

"The Covid-19 test which needs to be conducted two days before departure to Malaysia and upon arrival in Malaysia is still maintained as per the existing protocol," Mr Khairy said in the statement.

"I would like to emphasise once again that this new procedure applies only to travellers who enter Malaysia through the VTL, LITB and OSC programmes only," he added.

The existing standard operating procedures and protocols are still in effect for those who do not enter Malaysia via the three programmes.

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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.