KUALA LUMPUR, June 24 — The Ministry of Health (MOH) aims to achieve zero new Covid-19 cases in the country by next month, Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said today.
According to the Health director-general, coronavirus cases involving Malaysians are below MOH’s projections, as undocumented migrants and legal foreigners have contributed to the recent rise in cases.
“If we look at the issue as a whole, it is under control. We managed to control and prevent the spread of Covid-19.
“We do not see a rapid rise in the cases even after the Hari Raya celebration,” he told a press conference.
He also emphasised the importance of finding the right balance between the lives and livelihoods of the people in the country.
“Other sectors were allowed to open in order to find the balance between the two aspects,” he added.
“Maybe in a month’s time, if we follow the standard operating procedures (SOP), obey the advice from MOH, maybe we can reach zero cases. That is our objective too.”
MOH identified three new Covid-19 clusters in the country. The new clusters were spotted in Bukit Bintang here; a construction site in Kuching, Sarawak; and at a condominium in Hulu Langat, Selangor.
Ten Covid-19 cases have been reported in the Bukit Bintang cluster, involving nine foreign nationals from Bangladesh and a Malaysian.
Patient 8,498, who is a foreigner, attended Covid-19 screening for work and was found to be positive on June 15. Investigation and screening of all the close contacts of the patients were carried out.
A total of 274 people were screened, including 203 foreigners and 71 Malaysians. Of them, nine tested positive for Covid-19.
Precautionary measures, such as cleaning and disinfection, were carried out at their residence and other related locations. MOH is still investigating the root cause of the infection in this cluster.
The first Covid-19 case in the new cluster at a construction site in Kuching was detected when Patient 8,591 underwent Covid-19 screening at a private clinic.
He was the chief supervisor of two Indonesian workers, who were diagnosed with Covid-19 on June 16 at their workplace screening.
Following that, investigations and close contact screenings of construction workers and their family members were conducted. So far, 426 people have been identified, of which 62 were found to be negative, while the rest are still waiting for their test result.
The condominium cluster in Hulu Langat came to light when a tahfiz student contracted coronavirus on June 8. Two more Covid-19 positive cases were detected in the cluster after active case detection was carried out.
Patient 5,818, who was the foster father of Patient 8,368 (tahfiz student), was found to be positive, followed by his colleague, Patient 5,894.
So far, 40 close contacts have been identified and screened for Covid-19. Three Covid-19 patients were identified while seven are still waiting for their test result. Thirty people tested negative for Covid-19 under this cluster.
Today, MOH recorded six new cases in the country. That brings the total confirmed Covid-19 infections in the country to 8,596. Four local transmissions and two imported cases were reported today.
According to the Health DG, all the local transmissions today involved Malaysians. A total of 45 Covid-19 patients were discharged today, bringing the total number of recovered patients to 8,231.
A total of 244 patients are still receiving treatment in hospital, whereas two patients are being treated in the intensive care unit, with no patients under ventilator.
“There is no increase in the death cases related to Covid-19, today. Therefore, the total number of Covid-19 deaths remains at 121,” said the DG.
