KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 5 — Kampung Tunku assemblywoman Lim Yi Wei said today that she has tested positive for Covid-19 on her second test, after returning from the Sabah election campaign on September 27.
The DAP lawmaker said she voluntarily isolated herself at home since Day One after she did a swab test upon arrival at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (klia2).
She called the district health office on September 30, where she was informed that her test result was negative and was told to come the next day to remove her quarantine bracelet. But she started experiencing Covid-19 symptoms.
Upon the district health office’s advice, she took a second swab test on October 2 and continued her home quarantine until health authorities informed her today that she had tested positive for coronavirus on her second test.
“My team has also self-quarantined since Day 1. They have tested negative on their first swab test and will be doing a second test.
“I apologise to all Ministry of Health (MOH) staff, my colleagues and all who are inconvenienced, despite all precautions taken and self-quarantine since Day 1. I also urge all who have been in contact with me for the last 14 days to do screening at the nearest health clinic,” Lim said in a statement.
Lim is the eighth politician to contract Covid-19 after campaigning in the Sabah state election that went to the polls on September 26.
Religious Affairs Minister Zulkifli Mohamad al-Bakri said earlier today that he has tested positive for Covid-19 after returning to Kuala Lumpur from Sabah on September 24.
He had attended a special National Security Council (NSC) meeting in Putrajaya on October 3 that was chaired by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and attended by senior ministers, as well as Health Minister Dr Adham Baba, as well as Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, Inspector-General of Police Abdul Hamid Bador, and Chief of Defence Force General Affendi Buang.
Environment and Water Deputy Minister Ahmad Masrizal Mohamad, Ayer Limau assemblyman Amiruddin Yusof from Melaka, and Kedah state executive councillor Azman Nasrudin have also tested positive for Covid-19 upon returning from Sabah.
Umno Youth deputy chief Shahril Hamdan said last month he tested positive for Covid-19 in Kuala Lumpur after returning from the Sabah election campaign, while Umno supreme council member Razlan Rafii also tested positive for coronavirus on an antigen rapid test kit while campaigning in Sabah last month. Pitas assemblyman Sufian Abd Karim from Sabah said last month that he has contracted Covid-19.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) only mandated testing at airports for Sabah arrivals from September 27, a day after Sabahans went to the polls, even though health authorities already noticed Covid-19 cases with Sabah travel history popping up in other parts of the country since a week prior on September 20.
Health authorities also only mandated home quarantine for these Sabah returnees pending the results of their first test, instead of a 14-day quarantine, unless they later experienced coronavirus symptoms or were in close contact with confirmed cases.
In just 10 days, the coronavirus spread from Sabah to all other states in Malaysia. Since October 1 with 260 new Covid-19 cases reported nationwide, MOH has reported continuous record highs of daily infections, hitting 432 Covid-19 cases today, including 34 in Selangor.
