KUALA LUMPUR: Six new cases of Covid-19 were reported today, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 99, said Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
He said all the cases were detected and isolated for further treatment and the close contacts of these cases were being identified for investigation and sampling.
All of the new cases reported today comprised close contacts of the cluster linked to the 26th case, he said in a statement today.
He said all the cases were detected during contact tracking activities and they were admitted to the hospital for isolation and further treatment.
Close contact tracking activity is being conducted until the cause of this infection can be identified, he said.
Dr Noor Hisham said of the total, 18 cases were detected among patients under investigation (PUI) for the Covid-19 infection, 79 cases involving close contacts and two others were cases from the Humanitarian Aid Mission.
“Of the total cases, two were reported in need of respiratory aid and are being treated at the Intensive Care Unit. These cases have also been given anti-viral treatment,” he added.
He said on cases for the second wave (beginning from the 23rd to the 99th case), only five were reported from PUI and with history of traveling abroad, while the other cases involved clusters consisting of close contacts and related to one another.
Meanwhile, he said the 41st Covid-19 positive case had recovered and was allowed to be discharged from the Kuala Lumpur Hospital ward.
This brings to 24 cases of those who had fully recovered from Covid-19 and discharged from the ward, he added.
Dr Noor Hisham said the Health Ministry was also conducting a Covid-19 surveillance to detect sporadic and local cases in Malaysia through patients with influenza-like-illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) that had no history of travelling to countries affected by Covid-19 or contact with Covid-19 positive cases.
As of March 8, he said, a total of 567 samples had been tested and so far no samples were detected positive for Covid-19 infection. Based on current information, no Covid-19 sporadic cases have been detected through this surveillance activity.
However, he reminded individuals who had been ordered to undergo home surveillance to comply with the stipulated rules of the Order For Supervision And Observation At Home.
The public, he said, should also avoid going to crowded places and to distance themselves at least one meter away when dealing with other individuals.
They should also not disseminate unverified news or information relating to Covid-19, such as on places purportedly infected by the virus, he added.
Dr Noor Hisham said the public should maintain a high level of hygiene, such as washing their hands with water and soap, or using hand sanitizer often.
They are also advised to postpone their travel abroad, especially to regions or cities that have been declared as Covid-19 outbreak areas, such as in the People's Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, Japan, Italy and Iran. -- Bernama