KUALA LUMPUR, March 12 — Three government agencies reported novel coronavirus cases this week, with some shutting down their offices for disinfection and cleaning work.
The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam), the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), and Sirim Berhad each reported one Covid-19 case among their employees.
In a statement yesterday, Suhakam said that one of its members may have been infected as early as March 2, and is now taking steps to identify individuals who have been in close contact with the individual to undergo testing.
“Suhakam is also instituting relevant measures to curb the spread of the virus, especially among its employees, and therefore, would like to inform that out headquarters at Menara TH Perdana, Kuala Lumpur, will be closed from March 11 to 13, 2020.”
The federal agency parked under Parliament added that all Suhakam employees will be working remotely from home, while all planned activities and programmes have been postponed until further notice.
Sirim, on the other hand, said one of its employees at its Shah Alam headquarters tested positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday.
Bernama reported the corporate organisation owned wholly by Putrajaya through the Minister of Finance Inc as saying that all employees who were in close contact with the infected staff member have since undergone screenings and tests, besides being put under self-quarantine for 14 days.
“We are also taking additional steps such as providing hand sanitisers at public areas in all Sirim buildings here and at Sirim state offices,” the company said. “All visitors have to undergo screenings at entry points.”
MCMC, meanwhile, said one of their employees tested positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday, and is currently receiving medical treatment at Hospital Sungai Buloh.
“A detailed contact tracing exercise was carried out to identify those who had direct contact with the employee,” MCMC said in a statement yesterday. “Those identified had been on home quarantine and will be undergoing medical screening.”
Operations at the MCMC headquarters in Cyberjaya and state offices nationwide are not interrupted. However, consumer complaints front desk will be temporarily closed to mitigate the risk of infection via direct contact.
