Amid manipulation claim, Dr Noor Hisham says Covid-19 data handlers bound by law

KUALA LUMPUR, April 20 — The Health Ministry today has assured the public that there are no doubts raised regarding the country’s Covid-19 data management system.

Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham said all health personnel involved in data management at the district level up to the level national is subject to relevant laws and are obliged to maintain confidentiality of patients’ Covid-19 data.

“The data management system used must be transparent and have integrity.

“All test results are conducted either in the clinic government health, hospitals, or even service facilities private health is mandatory to be uploaded into the Public Health Laboratory Information System.

“The system is always monitored by the Health Ministry, through the District Health Office, State Health Department, and National Public Health Laboratory to ensure follow-up action is taken accordingly can be taken,” Dr Noor Hisham said in a statement today.

His clarification comes after allegations from certain quarters indicating manipulation in Covid-19 case figures.

“Data from all states are received no later than 12 noon by the data management team at CPRC. Next, this data is analysed and verified before it is registered. A review of all data will be performed by officers at Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre (CPRC).

“Data that has been registered as Malaysian daily data will then be used for epidemiological analysis of the Covid-19 situation in Malaysia including case trends, infectious rates, Covid-19 clusters, hospital and laboratory capacity and efficacy preventive and control measures,” he said.

He added that all that information has been reviewed and will then be edited for his daily press statement while he makes the necessary final confirmation of information.

“This same process is carried out daily by staff in the field as well as in the Health Office Operations Room District, State Health Department and also the national CPRC,” he said. 

Yesterday, the Defence Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob had dismissed these allegations, saying that they were made without any basis.

He added that Malaysia was not the only country reporting a surge in Covid-19 cases, adding that several European nations have also imposed lockdowns.