Coronavirus: Malaysia up in arms over Indonesian medical ‘tourists’
- Arrival of three Indonesians seeking treatment for non-Covid-19 conditions has prompted concerns among the public that Malaysia is letting its guard down
- Medical tourism council has defended the visits on ‘humanitarian’ grounds, but some experts say risks remain despite tests and quarantine periods
The arrival of the Indonesians last Friday had prompted anger among many Malaysians because of Indonesia’s high coronavirus rates. Indonesia, the worst affected country in Southeast Asia, on Tuesday reported 1,673 new infections to bring its total number of cases to 143,043 with 6,277 deaths.
01:32
Indonesia confirms 100,000 coronavirus cases, becomes Southeast Asia’s worst-hit nation
The three Indonesians, accompanied by two companions, had arrived on a chartered AirAsia flight from Medan. Another Air Asia flight from Indonesia due to arrive in Kuala Lumpur on August 24, had since been delayed, said the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council.
On Tuesday the Academy of Medicine Malaysia expressed concern over allowing medical tourists from neighbouring Indonesia, saying the risk of importing Covid-19 cases was high.
“The hidden economic cost of managing even one case cannot be properly estimated if one thinks of care providers who will be exposed and bring the infection home to their family,” said the academy’s master professor Dr Rosmawati Mohamed. “When the frontliners do it for the country, it is an obligation but we should not risk a third wave or overwhelming our health care system.”
The academy is a registered body representing all medical specialists in Malaysia.
Emeritus Professor Dr Lam Sai Kit, a research consultant and virologist at the University of Malaya warned that since medical tourism brought in foreign patients, Malaysia ran “the risk of having more new strains introduced into the country”.