KUALA LUMPUR: A temporary ban has been imposed on all international cruise ships that departed or transited from any of the ports in China from entering Malaysian waters.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail made this announcement today in light of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak.
She said following the detection of one positive case of Covid-19 among the MS Westerdam Cruise passengers, close contact tracing activities were immediately carried out.
The cruise ship docked in Cambodia on Feb 13 and its passengers flew to Malaysia via a Malaysia Airlines charter flight, landing at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) the next day.
The contact tracing activities include communication between Malaysia International Health Regulations (IHR) Focal Point with National IHR Focal Points from other countries involved, she said.
Through this communication, she said brief information about each of the passengers were channeled to their respective National IHR Focal Point country.
“This information will be used by the relevant Health Ministries to follow and track the passengers as soon as they arrive at their destination.
“Communication with the National IHR Focal Points Cambodia was also carried out. This was to enable effective control and prevention measures to be taken at their level, which is the country in which the cruise ship docked.
“The Malaysian government will continue to strengthen its preparedness and response activities to combat the spread of Covid-19 infections in Malaysia.
“The Health Ministry will continue to monitor the progress of the incident through information obtained from various stakeholders. People will be kept up to date on any recent developments. Similarly, the ministry will ensure that appropriate precautions and control measures are taken," Dr Wan Azizah said after chairing the Disaster Management High Level Committee (HLC) meeting.
On the 145 passengers of the cruise ship who had landed in Malaysia, she said 137 had left the country, while six were waiting for connecting flights to their destinations.
Two passengers, both American nationals were sent to the Sungai Buloh Hospital in which one of them tested positive for Covid-19.
“All 145 passengers were screened. Two of them, both American nationals, were detected to be unwell through the thermal scanner and were taken to the Sungai Buloh Hospital for further examination.
“The results of the Covid-19 detection test on Feb 15 found that the wife, 83, was positive. The patient has cough symptoms, but no fever or shortness of breath. Her x-ray findings showed signs of pneumonia.
“Meanwhile, tests on her husband were found to be negative for the virus. However, he is now receiving treatment for bacterial infections,” she said.
The Health Ministry, she said, has informed Malaysia Airlines of the American woman who tested positive for the virus.
Dr Wan Azizah said the remaining passengers of the MS Westerdam cruise ship who were still in Cambodia were prohibited from entering Malaysia.
The decision, she said, was made considering all passengers had been in close contact with the previously confirmed positive case.
“Meanwhile, the six passengers waiting for the next flight will undergo the Covid-19 detection test.
“If the test is confirmed negative, the passenger will be allowed to continue their journey. However, if positive, the passenger will be taken to the hospital for further health checks.”
In a related development, she said a 59-year-old woman, the 15th case of Covid-19 in Malaysia, had recovered from the illness and was discharged today.
The woman, from Wuhan, China, arrived in Johor from Singapore on Jan 24 with her husband, son and daughter-in-law. She was treated at the Permai Hospital in Johor Baru.
Dr Wan Azizah said there were no new reported cases today, bringing the total number of patients receiving treatments to 14 and total number of cases discharged to eight.
“For the eight cases that have been discharged, they have undergone Covid-19 detection tests and have been negative two consecutive times.”
MS Westerdam had 2,257 passengers and crew aboard. The cruise ship anchored in Hong Kong a day before embarking on a 14-day journey on Feb 1 as an East Asia cruise.
The cruise ship was then not allowed to land in some countries before receiving permission to anchor in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, on Feb 13 following the coronavirus outbreak.