PUTRAJAYA, March 4 — Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah has confirmed that as of noon today, there are 14 new Covid-19 positive cases in Malaysia.
These 14 new cases are part of the second wave of infection that started on February 27, contracted from Case 26.
“Collectively, the total number of new cases that tested positive to date are 28. These cases belong to the second wave cluster,” he told reporters today during a press conference here at the Health Ministry.
Setakat ini, 21 kes positif dikaitkan dgn kes kluster iaitu kes ke-26.
— KKMPutrajaya (@KKMPutrajaya) March 4, 2020
Kes ke-30 hingga kes ke-50 adalah kontak rapat atau dikaitkan dgn kes ke-26.
Pengesanan kontak rapat
oleh pasukan kesihatan KKM di lapangan masih berjalan. pic.twitter.com/5qtkCm1XlE
According to Dr Noor Hisham, out of the 28 positive cases, the seven cases reported yesterday and the 14 cases today are related to Case 26.
He also said that the Health Ministry has managed to track down individuals who were in close contact with Case 26.
“In this second wave, we have identified one infection cluster. Through our contact tracing process, we have tracked down 215 individuals who were in close contact with Case 26.
“From the 215 individuals, we have identified 16 positive cases (close contact), 19 negative, while 180 are still awaiting test results,” said Dr Noor Hisham in reference to the 21 new cases.
However, five out of the 21 positive cases are individuals who were in close contact with the 16 individuals who contracted the virus from Case 26.
Dr Noor Hisham added that contact tracing information received by the Health Ministry found that Case 26 was involved in five different activities.
From the five activities, 16 positive cases which contracted the virus were individuals in close contact with Case 26.
Out of the 16, one is an individual who is Case 26’s officer, while the remaining 15 were involved in several activities with Case 26.
“The investigation on this cluster is still ongoing and we want to advise the relevant stakeholders to remain calm and offer accurate information with regards to this.
“As for premises or workplaces that have case(s) tested positive, there is no need to shut the building. Disinfection will be sufficient,” said Dr Noor Hisham.
When asked to state his opinion on the authenticity of several documents that are being circulated via social media indicating organisations with staff who have tested positive for the virus, Dr Noor Hisham said he was not able reveal certain information related to the documents.
“We have not made the identities of positive cases public as this is private and confidential information,” he said.
All 21 cases (seven on March 3 and 14 today) surfaced after an 11-day lull, during which no new cases were reported, prior to February 27.
This also brings the country’s total number of positive cases to 50.
As for cases from the first wave, Dr Noor Hisham said that 22 cases that tested positive for Covid-19 have been cleared of the virus and discharged.
