On top of protecting you from the ever-mutating coronavirus, there are more leeway for those who've gotten their COVID-19 booster shots.

Few criteria to be met

On Thursday (24 February), the Health Ministry announced that close contacts of COVID-19 patients are no longer required to undergo home quarantine, provided that they are fully vaccinated complete with booster shots.

However, there are a few conditions: the close contact must not display any symptoms and they must test negative on Day 1 and Day 3 using RTK-Ag self-test kits.

Those who've yet to get their booster shots are still subjected to Home Surveillance Order (HSO), Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin told New Straits Times.

"If those who are fully vaccinated and have received their booster shots test positive for the virus, they have to report on MySejahtera and undergo self-isolation. Otherwise, it will be business as usual for them.

"If they (those fully vaccinated and received booster shots) are symptomatic, they must undergo self-isolation for five days," he was quoted as saying.

This new protocol will take effect 1 March, Khairy said.

Based on recommendations

While the move may sound counter-intuitive, Khairy revealed that the Health Ministry decided to implement the new protocol after studying the data and based on several recommendations.

"Based on the current data, we found that the incubation period of the Omicron variant is three days, before an individual develops symptoms or tests positive for COVID-19.

"Current data on the various variants also show that the viral load reduces for those fully vaccinated (if they contract COVID-19), and we assume that it also applies to individuals who have taken their booster shots during the ongoing Omicron wave," he was quoted as saying.

Image credit: GeoTV

Khairy added that based on the Health Ministry's risk assessment, asymptomatic cases are less likely to have a higher load.

"Furthermore, we still have safeguard measures in place, such as self-tests on Day 1 and Day 3, and the self-health assessments (via MySejahtera) to confirm they do not develop symptoms," he further added.