Coronavirus: Block Chinese tourists completely- Umno
The government has finally succumbed to pressure from the people who want China citizens banned from entering Malaysia, when it decided to block tourists from Wuhan and Hubei from entering the country.
However, that action itself is not enough. The government should block all tourists coming from China.
This is because the novel coronavirus outbreak has spread to other parts of China.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said that there were no patients in Malaysia from Wuhan, as the Wuhan authorities had restricted their people from travelling since yesterday.
However, there are three patients under quarantine in Johor, who are not from Wuhan but from other parts of China. The same thing happened in Langkawi recently with two Chinese children and seven Malindo Air crew members were quarantined.
Patients who are tested positive with the coronavirus in Malaysia are all from outside Wuhan. This means that the coronavirus outbreak has spread to other regions of China besides Wuhan and Hubei.
So the government’s action to curb tourist arrivals from Wuhan and Hubei alone are not enough.
We want the government to issue visa restrictions to all tourists from China to Malaysia.
This is to provide more effective sanctions to ensure the outbreak is truly contained.
I hope the government really takes the people’s loves more seriously and not just look at tourism revenue alone.
If the government is serious about protecting Malaysians, these recommendations should be given special attention to curb the coronavirus outbreak:
i) Block visa for all tourists from China to Malaysia.
ii) Restrict imports of animals from China such as chicken
iii) Restrict imports of food and beverage products from China as Singapore has done.
iv) Find and filter Chinese people who are still in the country or send them home.
v) Close markets or restaurants that sell exotic animals for consumption in Malaysia. There are still many shops selling exotic animals for food
vi) Bring back Malaysians back from China.
Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob is the Opposition Leader
