Malaysia imposed a temporary ban on Chinese nationals arriving from the city of Wuhan and surrounding Hubei province on Monday.
It has suspended all visa facilities for Chinese tourists from Wuhan and Hubei as well as neighbouring provinces in China as part of its measure to combat the coronavirus outbreak.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in a statement today said this includes all Electronic Travel Registration and Information (eNTRI) facilities, visa-free entry, visa on arrival, e-visa as well as manual visa applications.
It said the decision to suspend all visas effectively immediately for tourists from China, especially those from Hubei province, was due to the development of the coronavirus outbreak.
“Since cases of the 2019-nCoV were reported in China, the government has been following guidelines set by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and has referred to medical experts on ways to prevent the virus from spreading further.
“Observation is being done from time to time while the relevant authorities are doing their best to prevent further spread of the infection.
“The (visa) facilities will be reinstated once conditions return to normal. Wisma Putra will coordinate with the Chinese government on the decision,” the statement read.
The Chinese government has placed Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak and capital of Hubei, and other nearby cities under an unprecedented lockdown, affecting tens of millions of residents, to contain the disease.
The virus has caused global concern because of its similarity to the SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, pathogen, which killed hundreds across mainland China and Hong Kong in 2002 and 2003.
In Malaysia, four positive cases have been confirmed by the Health Ministry. All the patients are Chinese nationals visiting the country.
In China, the death toll reached 81 on Monday.
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