KUALA LUMPUR, July 23 — The government will allow children aged 12 and below to share a room with their parents at designated quarantine stations on the condition they had all returned from the same place, Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said. 

However, to be eligible for this room-sharing exemption, they would first have to sign a consent letter, he said. 

"This is so they understand there is a risk of (Covid-19) infection should they choose to share rooms,” he told a media briefing on the recovery movement control order (RMCO) in Parliament today. 

 Beginning tomorrow (July 24), Malaysians and foreigners returning from abroad will have to undergo 14 days of compulsory isolation at designated quarantine stations and not at their own homes, besides having to also bear the full cost of screenings and quarantine. 

This is following cases of people violating standard operating procedures (SOPs) for home quarantine and creating a risk of local transmission of the coronavirus.

Meanwhile, Ismail Sabri said for sponsored students, their sponsors would be asked to pay the quarantine costs while students from the B40 category and people with disabilities (OKU) can apply for an exemption. 

He added that screening regulations before leaving for Malaysia would depend on the regulations adopted by the country of departure and the airline they were flying with. 

Ismail Sabri also reminded that the mandatory quarantine is applicable for all Malaysians and foreigners entering the country, irrespective of whether they arrived via air, sea or land routes, including those coming from Singapore via the Johor Causeway. 

As for airline passengers arriving or flying to Sarawak, he said the new quarantine regulation, for now, is subjected to those on transit at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) en-route to Sarawak. 

"As for those from the Peninsular and flying to and fro, there is no decision yet but they will still be subjected to random inspections in Sarawak,” he said. 

A passenger onboard a Kuala Lumpur-Kuching flight yesterday was one of the 16 new Covid-19 cases reported yesterday. — Bernama