Malaysia lifts COVID-19 travel ban on 8 African countries, cuts booster interval amid Omicron fears

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has lifted a travel ban on eight southern African countries that had been among the first to report the Omicron variant of the coronvirus, citing the greater spread of the variant worldwide, its health minister said on Tuesday .

Authorities have detected 306 suspected Omicron cases out of 366 samples from travellers who had tested positive for COVID-19 upon arrival between Dec 21 and 25, he said. Khairy said given the rapid spread of the variant globally, there was no reason to continue with a travel ban against countries in Africa.

These made up 1.4 per cent of positive cases who were ordered to quarantine at home since Dec 1, data from Malaysia's COVID-19 app MySejahtera showed.

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