KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 5 — The Ministry of Health has today confirmed an individual who had attended a meeting at the Prime Minister’s Department on October 3 has tested positive for Covid-19.
Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said as such, all attendees of the meeting has been put under a 14-day home quarantine.
“Close contact tracing and investigations are ongoing, including screening and swab tests for any signs of Covid-19.
“All identified close contacts have been provided a 14-days Home Surveillance Order (HSO) from the last date of their exposure,” he said in a statement here.
He also said the individual was asymptomatic but had been admitted and isolated in the hospital for treatment in accordance with existing protocols.
While Dr Noor Hisham did not specify any details regarding the individual and event, minister Datuk Zulkifli Mohamad has just admitted that he tested positive for Covid-19 minutes after the statement was issued.
Zulkifli’s Covid-19 diagnosis follows amid an exponential surge of Covid-19 cases nationwide over the past few days, with the country recording a new record-high of 432 cases today.
It is believed the event was a special National Security Council meeting on Covid-19 chaired by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in Putrajaya.
Among those present in the meeting were Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob; Senior Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof; Senior Minister of Education Radzi Jidin; Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba and related ministers.
Also present were Dr Noor Hisham himself and Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador.
Dr Noor Hisham also said all those who were in attendance during the meeting subsequently underwent a health screening today along with a sample taken from them for test purposes.
“Those who have been identified as close contacts are to don a surveillance bracelet while other meeting attendees who are not close contacts are ordered to perform self-health monitoring in the confines of their homes for 14 days using the home assessment tool available on the MySejahtera application.
“They are advised to seek immediate medical treatment at the nearby health facilities if they experience any symptoms throughout the surveillance period,” he added.
He also called on the public to remain calm and not to speculate further as the public will be always be informed of the latest developments through the ministry’s official statement or the ministry’s portal at http://covid-19.moh.gov.my/.
* A previous version of this story contained an error in which Chief of Defence Force General Tan Sri Affendi Buang was mistakenly named at the meeting. The error has since been corrected.
