KUALA LUMPUR, March 26 — Up till 12.30pm today, the government detected another seven Health Ministry workers who have been infected by Covid-19, with the total now standing at 80, said Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

In a post on his Facebook page, the Health Ministry director-general firmly stated that none of the cases were a result of treating other Covid-19 patients at the ministry’s healthcare facilities.

“Up till this morning (March 26, 2020), it has been reported that 80 healthcare workers from the Health Ministry have been confirmed as Covid-19 positives.

“Based on our investigation, the reason behind their infection is not because of treating other Covid-19 positive cases at the Health Ministry’s facilities,” said Dr Noor Hisham.

Up till noon yesterday, the ministry had confirmed that a total of 172 new Covid-19 cases were recorded, bringing the total to 1,796 cases nationwide.

Dr Noor Hisham said out of the 172 new cases reported, a total of 71 cases were linked to the tabligh event cluster in Sri Petaling, Kuala Lumpur (KL).

“The remaining 101 cases are still under investigation and may be related to other clusters.

“To date, 45 Covid-19 cases are being treated in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Of these, 34 cases still require respiratory assistance,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Up till noon today, there have been 21 Covid-19 related deaths, with the latest victim being a 63-year old man (case-1,588) who had attended a massive tabligh public gathering at a mosque in Sri Petaling.

He began showing symptoms and was screened on March 22, before being admitted at the Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital in Alor Setar.

“His health deteriorated during treatment and he passed away at 4am, on March 26, 2020,” said Dr Noor Hisham.