KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 5 — Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said today he abruptly cancelled his regular security press briefing today after finding out that fellow minister Datuk Zulkifli Mohamad tested positive for Covid-19.
The defence minister said he had earlier chaired a special ministerial meeting to discuss Putrajaya’s action against the new spike of Covid-19 cases.
“I made the instant decision to undertake a swab test and return home for self-quarantine,” he said on his Facebook page.
“I did not want my press conference to endanger the media. God willing, the result of my swab test will be out tomorrow. Pray for it to be negative.”
In the same Facebook post, Ismail had attached a tweet by PKR’s Lembah Pantai MP Fahmi Fadzil asking why the press conference did not go to air as scheduled.
Fahmi’s tweet was posted amid initial speculation that a minister, then believed to be Zulkifli, had tested positive for Covid-19.
Ismail’s press briefing is only open to the state media, such as news agency Bernama and broadcaster RTM.
Earlier today, Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah announced that an individual who had attended an October 3 meeting at the Prime Minister’s Department had tested positive for Covid-19, and that this individual did not display any symptoms during the meeting. Dr Noor Hisham did not name this individual. The Health Ministry has been practising the policy of not naming Covid-19 patients.
Shortly after Dr Noor Hisham’s announcement, Zulkifli himself confirmed on his official Facebook page that he had tested positive for Covid-19 and that his health condition remains good.
Zulkifli also urged those who had attended any events he had attended between September 24 and October 4 to immediately undergo Covid-19 screening at any health clinic.
The October 3 meeting in Putrajaya was a special National Security Council meeting on Covid-19, with those present including ministers such as Ismail himself, and other key officials such as Dr Noor Hisham and Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador.
Those who attended the meeting, which included most of the Cabinet members, are now put under a 14-day house quarantine.
* A previous version of this story contained an error in which Chief of Defence Force General Tan Sri Affendi Buang was mistakenly named at the meeting. The error has since been corrected.
