SUNGAI BULOH, March 12 — Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba today confirmed Malaysia’s first sporadic case of Covid-19 following a ‘tabligh’ gathering in a Sri Petaling mosque, with two further positive contacts discovered in Kuantan, Pahang and Tawau, Sabah.

According to Dr Adham, this means that the virus was detected in an isolated and specific cluster within the country that was not known before.

"With Brunei reporting its first case of coronavirus infection of a man who attended the event, we have also detected positive contact in Kuantan and Tawau... positive Covid-19,” he told a press conference here at Hospital Sungai Buloh.

He also explained the outbreak at this stage was considered the ‘second wave’, whereby the disease transmission occurred within the country and infection was between those who came into close contact with those who tested positive.

For this reason, Dr Adham explained this may lead to a sudden spike in cases reported in the country.

Malaysian authorities announced yesterday they were tracking around 5,000 citizens across the country believed to have been potentially exposed to the coronavirus during a ‘itjimak tabligh’ gathering at the Jamek Sri Petaling Mosque in Kuala Lumpur between February 28 and March 1.

Earlier today, neighbouring Brunei reported a spike of 11 cases, all of which are related to the event in Sri Petaling.

Bruneian health authorities said the new cases were all linked to a 53-year-old man who was found to have gone to the tabligh and returned on March 3.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) had yesterday declared the Covid-19 outbreak, which has swept through over 110 countries, with at least 118,000 cases diagnosed, a global pandemic.

It’s the first time the WHO has called an outbreak a pandemic since the H1N1 "swine flu” in 2009.

Dr Adham also said while there was a significant uptrend of infections in the country, he said the situation is still under control.

He also urged those who had attended the ‘tabligh’ gathering at the mosque to get themselves tested for Covid-19 to contain the disease spread.

Malaysians who attended the event should contact the Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre via its hotline at 03-8881 0200.