CORONAVIRUS | Deputy Foreign Minister Kamarudin Jaffar has urged Malaysians in US and UK to come home before both countries impose travel restrictions amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

At a press conference today, he said no special flight arrangements would be made by Malaysia to evacuate its citizens from US and UK as commercial flights are still allowed to operate in both countries.

"Wisma Putra is working on (to obtain) an additional allocation of RM19 million to get Malaysians who are stranded (overseas)," Kamarudin (photo) said.

"This amount, however, will not be used to bring home Malaysians in US and UK. This is because commercial flights are still flying in and out of both countries.

"(But) I am appealing to our people there to fly home as soon as possible before a travel restriction is imposed and air travel is suspended by the aviation authority," he said.

Kamarudin also urged Malaysians to register with the Malaysian embassies in the US and UK to access appropriate assistance.

The number of US coronavirus infections climbed above 82,000 yesterday, surpassing the national tallies of China and Italy. The US death toll from Covid-19 rose beyond 1,200, according to Reuters.

More than 11,600 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the UK, but the BBC said yesterday the actual number of cases is estimated to be much higher.

According to the latest figures, 578 people who tested positive for the respiratory infection have died.

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