KUALA LUMPUR, March 3 — Seven new cases of the novel coronavirus have been reported in Malaysia, all close contacts of the 26th patient, said to be a senior Khazanah Nasional Berhad employee.
This brings the total number of Covid-19 cases in the country to 36.
Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said all the new seven coronavirus patients are Malaysians — five men and two women.
“Contact tracing for the 26th case and these new reported cases is still ongoing and the public will be notified of the latest developments,” Dr Noor Hisham said in a statement today.
Case 26 is a 52-year-old Malaysian man, reportedly a senior staff of sovereign wealth fund Khazanah, with a history of traveling to Shanghai, China. The Covid-19 outbreak originated in China, but has since spread to more than 70 countries and territories.
The news of the seven new cases was first announced by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) today following a briefing Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin had with the chief secretary to the government, the Health director-general, and other top-ranking government officials.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) said 14 of the 36 cases are being treated at Sungai Buloh Hospital and Kuala Lumpur Hospital.
Twenty-two of the cases have recovered well and been discharged from hospital, MOH said, amounting to a 61.1 per cent success rate. All patients are in stable condition.
“KKM’s full statement follows,” it added in a brief tweet this afternoon, using the Malay acronym for MOH.
The PMO, meanwhile, reiterated that all 107 Malaysians and their family members who were brought home from Wuhan in China, the centre of the Covid-19 outbreak, on February 4 have tested negative for the virus.
On the other hand, the 68 Malaysians and their family members who returned during a second mission have yet to complete their 14-day isolation, the PMO said in a statement. This ends on March 11.
The PMO noted that Muhyiddin is satisfied with all government agencies for working proactively to curb the spread of Covid-19, including frontliners and medical staff.
“The honourable prime minister advises all citizens not to panic and start panic-buying and to always abide by health care measures that have been outlined by the Ministry of Health,” the PMO added.
A total of 90,306 Covid-19 cases have been reported in 70 countries as of this morning, with 45,603 or 50.5 per cent of the cases recovering. A total of 3.4 per cent of cases, however, succumbed to death, making up 3,084 cases.
