Khairy: No more yellow Casual Contact status on MySejahtera starting today

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has announced that your MySejahtera risk status will no longer change if you’ve been flagged as a casual contact starting from today (1st March 2022). Instead, you’ll receive a friendly notification to remind you to monitor yourself and to conduct a COVID-19 self-test if you have symptoms.

Previously, if MySejahtera check-in and MySJ Trace detected that you’ve been exposed to a COVID-19 positive case, your status will turn to yellow for Casual Contact without symptoms. You will then be required to answer a questionnaire about your health in the next couple of days before your status returns back to blue for Low Risk No Symptoms.

Unfortunately, MySejahtera still does not reveal the location of the exposure. If you have a casual contact exposure before 1st March, you will still carry the yellow status and are required to complete the daily questionnaire.

Unlike close contacts, individuals with casual contact by default are considered low risk and there are no restrictions or tests required. However, there were previous instances of premises that refuse entry to individuals with casual contact status due to confusion by certain retail or mall management.

The Ministry of Health has gradually updated its COVID-19 protocols with fewer restrictions despite the rising cases due to the Omicron variant. Although Malaysia continues to record over 20,000 new cases daily, over 99% of the new cases are considered less severe with mild or no symptoms.

Effective 1st March 2022, close contacts who have received their COVID-19 vaccine boosters and are not experiencing symptoms are no longer required to isolate themselves at home effective 1st March 2022. However, they must conduct a COVID-19 self-test on Day 1 and Day 3. Isolation via Home Surveillance Order is still required for boosted close contacts with symptoms as well as unboosted close contacts (with or without symptoms).

If you’re tested positive for COVID-19, the quarantine period is now 7 days for boosted and fully vaccinated individuals. Individuals who have not yet completed their COVID-19 vaccination are required to be quarantined for 10 days.

The Ministry of Health has also reminded all senior citizens (adults aged 60 years and above, for all vaccine types) and Sinovac recipients (adults aged 18 years old and above) to get their booster by 31st March 2022 to retain their fully vaccinated status. Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines are still the recommended COVID-19 vaccine for boosters as data shows a higher level of protection than a Sinovac booster. Sinovac recipients who insist on getting Sinovac can get the Sinovac booster by walking in at their nearest offsite PPV under ProtectHealth.

In case you missed it, MySejahtera has updated its COVID-19 self-test page which now requires you to attach a photo of your COVID-19 self test result. If you tested positive but experiencing mild or no symptoms, you are no longer required to go to the COVID-19 assessment centre (CAC), and a digital home surveillance order (HSO) will be issued.