PUTRAJAYA, Jan 29 ― The government has not imposed restrictions on foreign visitors to major tourist attractions such as mosques and museums due to the Wuhan coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today.

In a press conference today, the prime minister said such claims were false.

“At the same time, we found there to be irresponsible articles in Malaysia, purportedly that tourists to Malaysia who are not Muslims cannot go to the mosques because of the fear of them infecting (others). So this is not the government's policy.

“The government never declared that mosques or museums cannot be visited by tourists from China because they may be carrying the disease to the places mentioned.

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“This is not government policy, and it is an irresponsible act, and the government will take action against those who deliberately create fake news to scare Malaysians, and to create hatred among races in Malaysia,” Dr Mahathir said.

The prime minister said the government believed in the freedom of the press but said this should not be a licence to “agitate people to be antagonistic towards each other.”

National news agency Bernama had on Monday reported that the Putra Mosque located next to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) was closed to foreign tourists since Sunday, owing to fear over the 2019 novel coronavirus infection.

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However, it reported that the mosque has since reopened its doors at about 2pm today.

It quoted a spokesman for the mosque management saying that the staffs would follow the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health (MOH) as a precaution against the virus infection.

“Earlier the Putra Mosque was closed to visitors following concerns over the safety of our workers as crowds of foreigners visit the mosque every day.

“Beginning today, our workers will abide by the Health Ministry’s advice on the use of face masks and hand sanitiser,” he was quoted saying.

Bernama reported that the Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin mosque in Putrajaya and the Federal Territory Mosque in Kuala Lumpur were also previously closed to foreign tourists due to fears of the coronavirus spread.

Malaysiakini had yesterday reported Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Mohammadin Ketapi lamenting the decision by the management of popular tourist attractions to ban entry for foreigners followng the virus outbreak, which has to date claimed about 132 lives in China.

He reportedly said that those who have already entered Malaysia are healthy, also expressing his decision to write letters to the said tourist sites.