Malaysia has introduced ten new measures to prevent A/H1N1 flu from spreading in the country.

Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said that one of the measures was compulsory health declaration form by all travelers arriving in the country, which would be gazetted next week, according to local newspapers on Friday.

Any travelers whoever fail to do so could be liable to a 10,000 ringgit (US$2,857.1) fine or two years' jail or both, under the Malaysian Disease Prevention Act, Muhyiddin told reporters here on Thursday.

Other measures included sending health officers on board flights to scan body temperatures of passengers coming from the United States, Melbourne of Australia and Manila of the Philippines.

Also, Malaysia would give A/H1N1 flu vaccines to high-risk groups to reduce infection risks.

Social distancing would be conducted at areas affected by the outbreak, including shutting down of schools.

Local authorities would step up enforcement to make sure public toilets are clean.

Transport operators are also required to provide masks for passengers with flu symptoms.

The measures also limited the number of visitors to hospitals and discouraged children under 12 from visiting.

Front-liners were asked to take care of their health and wear appropriate clothes to prevent infections, as one of the measures to control the disease.

(Xinhua News Agency June 19, 2009)