SJMC Confirms Three Covid-19 Cases, Including Patient 26

Patient 26 is linked to Malaysia’s second cluster of coronavirus cases, Patient 25 is an Italian man, while Patient 34 is an SJMC paramedic.

KUALA LUMPUR, March 5 — Subang Jaya Medical Centre (SJMC) has reported three cases of the novel coronavirus, including Patient 26, who is linked to Malaysia’s second cluster of Covid-19 cases.

Ramsay Sime Darby Health Care (RSDH), which owns SJMC, confirmed that two Covid-19 cases had been treated at the hospital’s emergency (ER) department.

Another case was a staff member who came into contact with the second Covid-19 patient at the ER, RSDH said in a statement yesterday.

The first case, Patient 25, is an Italian man, aged 54, who is married to a Malaysian and lives in Malaysia. He recently travelled to Italy, and sought treatment at SJMC on February 26.

The Covid-19 outbreak originated in China, but has since spread to more than 70 countries and territories, including Italy, Shanghai, and Singapore.

Patient 26 is SJMC’s second case. He showed up at SJMC on February 27.

The male patient had no recent history of overseas travel, according to RSDH, but this contradicts the Ministry of Health (MOH), which identified the patient as a 52-year-old Malaysian man with a history of traveling to Shanghai and Singapore.

While the Ministry of Health (MOH) has not revealed the identities of Covid-19 cases due to patient confidentiality — save for their gender, age, and nationality — Patient 26 is widely reported as being an employee of sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Berhad.

Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah yesterday announced that a cluster linked to Patient 26 has infected 16 people, some of whom have since infected another five people, through public events and meetings.

“The staff at the screening stations directed the patients to the ER for future investigation and both patients were discharged home directly from the HR for home quarantine while waiting for their lab results,” RSDH said.

“The patients were subsequently admitted to Sungai Buloh Hospital for further treatment.”

SJMC’s third case of Covid-19, on the other hand, is Patient 34 — a local man, aged 40, and a paramedic. SJMC reported this case on March 3. He is also being treated at Sungai Buloh Hospital, one of MOH’s designated hospitals for Covid-19 treatment.

“We are monitoring their progress closely and ensuring that our staff receives all necessary support,” Greg Brown, group chief executive officer of RSDH said, adding that infection control measures are in place at SJMC to limit any risk of Covid-19 spread to the public.

All staff who have had contact with the two patients have since been tested for Covid-19 and have been placed under home quarantine, RSDH said, noting that some have already been cleared to return to work.

SJMC also temporarily closed its ER yesterday for two hours for terminal cleaning and disinfection work to be carried out. The ER was reopened at 6pm the same day.

Brown reiterated that screening stations at all entry points of RSDH’s hospitals are in place, so that thorough screening of patients and visitors are carried out, besides providing excellent care while being treated.

“Also, we have set up triage areas outside of the ER to manage suspected cases of Covid-19,” he added.

In a Facebook post, Dr Noor Hisham thanked RSDH for sharing the information about the Covid-19 cases.

“Indeed a commendable effort and a high sense of responsibility and transparency on their part in releasing this statement,” he said. “MOH would like to thank RSDH for the assistance to diagnose the patients before referring them to us.”

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