KUALA LUMPUR, March 5 — Five new cases of Covid-19 have been reported today, bringing the total number of cases in Malaysia up to 55.
Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the cases were reported with the Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre, as at 12pm today.
“All the new cases are related to one Covid-19 cluster which was previously identified as connected to the 26th case, meaning these new cases were due to close contact with the 26th case,” he said in a statement.
#COVIDー19 Lima kes baru adalah kontak rapat dan generasi kedua (kontak rapat kpd kontak rapat) iaitu kes 51, 52, 53, 54 dan 55.
— KKMPutrajaya (@KKMPutrajaya) March 5, 2020
Pengesanan kontak rapat oleh pasukan kesihatan di lapangan masih berjalan.
Mereka yang terlibat diharap memberi kerjasama penuh. pic.twitter.com/kbiXhVZRKS
Dr Noor Hisham also spoke of the Covid-19 Cluster Work Meeting Series 2, which decided to advise Malaysians from travelling to certain destinations around the world.
“We advise that for the time being, travel to the cities of Lombardy, Veneto, and Emilia-Romagna in Italy, Hokkaido in Japan, as well as Tehran, Qom, and Gilan in Iran, be temporarily postponed.
“The meeting has also decided to restrict the entry of any visitors, regardless of nationality, who visited the aforementioned locations for at least 14 days before arriving in Malaysia. Malaysian citizens abroad are encouraged to register themselves with the nearest embassy, consulate, or high commission,” he said.
Out of the 55 verified Covid-19 cases since the outbreak began at the start of the year, 22 have since recovered and discharged from the hospitals, with non-Malaysians sent back to their respective countries.
The past two days has seen a marked increase of Covid-19 cases, with seven new cases on Tuesday, and 14 new cases yesterday, compared to the relatively minor number of increases beforehand.
