MALAYSIA is not ready to re-evaluate its stance on Chinese travellers despite a drop in Covid-19 cases in the mainland, said Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“We haven’t decided. We are still watching the situation before we decide on Chinese visitors coming to Malaysia.

“The decision is not clear. There are some who say we are dealing with this (outbreak) successfully, but some feel we are not (making it better). Now, we see that South Korea is also affected,” the prime minister told a press conference after chairing a Pakatan Harapan presidential council meeting in Putrajaya last night.

He was asked whether Malaysia will lift a ban on visitors from several regions in China.

The country has imposed travel restrictions on Chinese nationals from the hard-hit Hubei province, and the neighbouring provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangsu.

Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, is the capital of Hubei. Flights to and from the city have been halted.

Earlier today, Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said Malaysia will not ban all visitors from China for now, as there is no need for such a measure.

She said Putrajaya will, instead, order stringent checks on arrivals from China.

Malaysia has 22 confirmed Covid-19 cases, 17 of whom have recovered. Most of the patients are Chinese nationals. – February 22, 2020.