Quarantine cost at training institutes reduced to RM100/day
Published on: Monday, August 10, 2020
By: The Star
PUTRAJAYA: The cost of quarantine at public training institutes will be reduced from RM150 to RM100 a day, said Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
He said the decision was made after the special Cabinet committee reviewed charges imposed on those being quarantined at these facilities.
ADVERTISEMENT “We have agreed to bring down the charges from RM150 a day to RM100 for those placed at public training institutes to undergo mandatory quarantine. The rate for those quarantined at hotels remains at RM150 a day, ” he said on Monday (Aug 10).
Ismail Sabri said the government has decided to lower the rate as training institutes do not provide as many facilities compared to hotels.
Children below 12 can stay in the same room as their parents during quarantine and will be charged RM50 a day for meals and other charges.
“Requests to be quarantined in these facilities will depend on the availability of rooms which is limited, ” he said.
ADVERTISEMENT Ismail Sabri added that 58 hotels are being used as quarantine centres, while only five public training institutes are being used for the same purpose.
He said that children below the age of 12 who are single travellers returning to Malaysia are also required to be quarantined at designated stations.
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“We will allow a parent to accompany their children while being quarantined. Both parent and child will not have to pay any charges, ” he said.
The government has also agreed to give exemptions on quarantine charges to those from the B40 category, individuals released from prisons in neighbouring countries returning to Malaysia and those employed overseas but are being laid off.
Exemptions will also be given to Malaysians who are stranded overseas for a long time and whose financial resources have been depleted because they were stranded.
Currently, those with disabilities and are registered with the Welfare Department as well as students from B40 families are exempted from having to pay for quarantine.
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Daily Express Malaysia
Between July 24 and Aug 9, a total of 9,016 individuals have returned to Malaysia and were sent to designated stations to be quarantined for 14-days.
To date, 1,599 people have been discharged and allowed to return home.