KUALA LUMPUR, March 28 — Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the patient-under-investigation (PUI) for Covid-19 who killed himself at Serdang Hospital on Friday night had not tested positive for the virus.

Dr Noor Hisham said the patient had undergone screening for the virus, but his results came back negative.

"Test is negative so it’s not a Covid-19 patient,” Dr Noor Hisham said during the ministry’s daily Covid-19 briefing today.

"It’s a suicide, yes, but not a Covid-19 patient. We test anyone who enters the ICU (intensive care unit) for Covid-19.

"So maybe there’s cross infection or other illnesses, but this person was not positive for Covid-19.”

A senior citizen, aged 62, committed suicide yesterday evening in the toilet of ward 7D in Serdang Hospital.

Sepang police chief ACP Wan Kamarul Azran Wan Yusof confirmed the incident and said the male patient, who was admitted to the hospital for self-isolation, was found dead by a nurse on duty who subsequently alerted the police.

The police have now instructed for a post-mortem and recorded statements from all hospital staff who dealt with the patient and his family members.

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