SEPANG, March 10 — Newly-minted Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba has taken a tour around Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) on his first day in office today, amid 12 new cases of Covid-19 in the country.

Dr Adham who was sworn in earlier today, was first briefed by health officials on the current Covid-19 situation of the country at the Ministry of Health in Putrajaya, before finally arriving at KLIA around 8.30pm to tour the nation’s front-line efforts in containing the outbreak.

In his first press conference as the health minister, Dr Adham revealed that a total of 129 cases of Covid-19 were recorded to, up from 117 yesterday.

Dr Adham said the 12 new cases is a cluster that was traced back to case 33, but he assured the public that health officials have taken the necessary steps to contain the outbreak.

"Despite the high numbers, we have discharged 25 patients out of 129, who have fully recovered,” he told reporters, referring to his ministry.

"Through the 12 new cases, through contact (tracing) we know more in details where these contacts are.

Dr Adham again reassured that Covid-19 situation in the country is under control and stated KLIA as an example where the health ministry has placed 150 personnel who are working around the clock in their effort against to contain the Wuhan virus.

While calling for calm, Dr Adham also advised members of the public to avoid going to crowded places and adopt social distancing methods, where he advised for individuals to maintain at least one-metre distance from another person to mitigate the chances of possibly contracting an infection. 

He also cautioned the public to be wary of misinformation and fake news on the outbreak and to refer to official sources such as the health ministry.