No more quarantine for asymptomatic close contacts who have taken booster jabs

Individuals above the age of 18 who have been in close contact with Covid-19 cases, have taken their booster jabs and are asymptomatic on the first day will not be required to undergo quarantine from March 1 onwards.

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said this new procedure was based on risk assessments in a move towards the endemic phase.

However, he said close contacts who are not required to undergo home surveillance order (HSO) must take a RTK test on the first and third day from the last day they were in contact with the positive Covid-19 case.

He said if the test comes back positive, the individual must report the result through the MySejahtera application and undergo self-quarantine. If it comes back negative on the first and third day, the individual can carry on as usual.

“This approach is based on the risk assessment by the health ministry,” he said at a press conference today.

Khairy said based on data from other variants, the health ministry had found that the viral load in fully vaccinated individuals decreases, adding that the viral load would likely be reduced in those who have received booster doses during the Omicron wave.

Khairy said for fully vaccinated individuals who are tagged as close contacts but have yet to receive a booster jab, the quarantine period will remain at five days.

He said health ministry had found that individuals who test positive or contract the virus during the Omicron wave will show symptoms on the third day.

He said close contact individuals would be required to answer health assessment tool questions on the Mysejahtera application, where they will be asked whether they are exhibiting any symptoms. However, a HSO will not be issued.