PUTRAJAYA, Oct 2 — The Health Ministry is still awaiting the laboratory results for confirmation that a teacher in Sabah had died of Covid-19, Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said today.

He said the real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) test result is still pending.

"We are not able to confirm that the deceased teacher is positive of Covid-19 as we have not received results from the rRT-PCR test.

"We have only conducted the RTK but that is only about 85 per cent accurate,” he told a news conference here, using the abbreviation for the Rapid Test Kit antigen.

Rumours of the teacher’s death from the highly infectious virus triggered rumours of a statewide closure of schools there earlier today.

In a report by The Star, Sabah Education Department (JPN) director Dr Mistrine Radin confirmed that a male teacher had died.

The English daily also reported that the Semporna Hospital in Sabah confirmed a teacher had died there.

Semporna is among the four districts in Sabah currently placed under a targeted enhanced movement control order (TEMCO) after a steady rise in Covid-19 cases.