Tourists arrive at the airport as Langkawi reopens to domestic tourists, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Malaysia September 16, 2021. Photo credit – REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng

On the opening day of the Langkawi travel experiment, five had been confirmed to be diagnosed with Covid-19 on Thursday, September 16.

The Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah categorised the cases as Category 1 and asymptomatic.

He said, “They have been ordered to undergo home surveillance and observation (HSO) and to be isolated for a period of 10 days.”

1,250 travellers were screened at four airport entryways and 1,296 were tested at the Kuala Perlis ferry terminal.

Dr. Noor Hisham advised that any traveller experiencing covid related symptoms should immediately seek medical attention to control the spread.

Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister, Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri praised the effort as the travel bubble performance will be a benchmark for other future local destinations to study.

During a press conference, she said, “With a local population of 115,000 and almost 90 per cent of them fully vaccinated, this will be the best place to measure the success of the scheme.”

Ahmad Farid Hanif, one of the travellers, was excited to book his flight with his family when the experiment was announced. As a fully vaccinated person, he was confident that he was protected in addition to adhering to SOPs.

He added, “We have to learn how to live with the virus. We cannot be too afraid. We will always remember to follow the SOP,” said Ahmad Farid, who will be spending three days and two nights on the island.

-THE MALAYSIA VOICE