Coronavirus: Malaysia says China-backed ECRL on track despite outbreak
- About 200 Chinese nationals working on the 640km megaproject had to complete 14 days of self-quarantine upon returning from China
- Some managerial staff who hail from the province at the epicentre of the outbreak remain on indefinite leave, however
About 1,000 of the workers building the 640km megaproject are Chinese nationals, according to project owner Malaysia Rail Link, but only 200 or so returned to China over the recent Lunar New Year holiday and all of these completed a 14-day period of self-quarantine before being allowed to resume work.
Thirteen managerial staff who hail from Hubei, the province at the epicentre of the outbreak that has been put under government lockdown, remain on indefinite leave.
Malaysia’s own travel restrictions have been more targeted, focusing only on the Chinese provinces worst hit by the outbreak which has killed more than 2,000 of the upwards of 75,000 people it has infected so far.
In a statement issued over the Lunar New Year, Malaysia Rail Link assured the public that extensive preventive measures had been put in place, including thermal screening and health monitoring of workers for the virus.