By Wan Nurul Atiqah
PUTRAJAYA, 25 February 2022: Starting 1st March, individuals age above 18 years old who are in close contact with COVID-19 patients but have received booster jabs, do not need to undergo a Home Surveillance Order (HSO) if they are asymptomatic on the first day, Health Minister, Khairy Jamaluddin said.
Bernama reported that Khairy further explained that the individual however has to undergo a self- rapid test kit (RTK) on the first and third day from the last date of exposure to the positive COVID-19 case.
“If the test came back positive, the individual must report the result via the MySejahtera application and undergo self-quarantine and if the results came back negative on both first and third day, the individual can carry on as usual,” Khairy added.
This approach, based on the risk assessment from the Ministry of Health (MOH), found that if the individuals are not symptomatic, the likelihood of their ‘virus load’ is low, Khairy told a press conference on COVID-19 development yesterday.
The ‘virus load’ would likely be reduced in those who have taken booster jabs during this Omicron wave, he added.
The current five days isolation period still applies for fully-vaccinated individuals with close contacts and have yet to take a booster jab.
Khairy also added that MOH found that symptoms can be seen on the third day for individuals who tested positive or contracted the virus during the Omicron wave.
Therefore, to check whether any symptoms are exhibited, close contact individuals are required to answer the Health Assessment Tool (HAT) questions via My Sejahtera application.
“This new procedure was based on the risk assessment in a move towards the endemic phase,” said Khairy.***
Source: Bernama