14 new cases of COVID-19 in Malaysia, new cluster identified
05 March, 2020
Fourteen new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Malaysia on Wednesday (Mar 4), bringing the national total to 50.
Most of these new cases are close contacts or linked to Case 26, medical Ministry said in a statement.
Case 26 has also been identified as the source of a COVID-19 cluster, resulting in a total of 21 infections (Case 30 to Case 50).
The ministry previously said that Case 26, a 52-year-old man, visited Shanghai in mid-January.
He previously a fever and sore throat on Feb 27 and received outpatient treatment at a private hospital on the same day. He later tested positive on Feb 29 and was warded at Sungai Buloh Hospital.
He has been determined as a director of UDA Holdings, that is a government-linked company, and a senior member in the leadership of sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional.
The Health Ministry said one case in the cluster was Case 26's aide while 15 others attended at least one activity as well as Case 26.
The other five were close contacts of several people from these 16 cases.
"NOT REALLY A SUPER SPREADER"
Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah while speaking at a press conference on Wednesday stressed that regardless of the sudden upsurge in the outbreak, the ministry still had the problem under control.
Asked if the Health Ministry would consider case 26 a "super spreader" he said no.
"If you take the individual in Korea, he infected a large number of people, and yeah he's considered a brilliant spreader.
"Here, only 16 confirmed patients (linked to case 26), therefore i would say extraordinary compared to others," he said.
YOU DON'T NEED TO CLOSE OFFICES
Separately, Dr Noor Hisham also said that there is no need for folks to panic over the current situation.
"As I've said, the situation is in order. With early containment which is what are doing now, we are able to discover close contacts who are both negative and positive quickly.
"If we proceed to late containment, we'd have to change our approach," he said.
Dr Noor Hisham then stressed that persons should avoid spreading news which might be false and cause unnecessary panic.
"Usually do not make viral materials that can cause panic among the people. If there are questions, the general public are free to contact the ministry hotlines for verification," he said.
He also advised that organisations with positive cases among members of their staff do not need to close their offices.
"They simply need to disinfect and sanitise the premises and continue practising the precautions advised by the ministry. You don't need to completely close," he said.
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