PUTRAJAYA: A total of 325 medical workers under the Health Ministry have so far tested positive for the Covid-19 virus.
Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said they make up 5.8 per cent of the cumulative number of Covid-19 positive cases in Malaysia.
Of the total, he said, 185 had fully recovered and been discharged, 137 are still being treated in hospitals.
Three fatalities were also recorded, including the one reported today.
The 325 medical workers, he said, comprised 77 medical officers, 66 nurses, 34 graduate medical officers, 23 specialists, 21 assistant medical officers, and 104 personnel offering other services.
Dr Noor Hisham said based on the ministry's investigations, the cause of infection for all the medical workers was not due to the management or treatment of coronavirus patients at the ministry's facilities.
"It was found that 70 per cent of the cases were caused by private activities such as attending events, going abroad and such," he told the daily press briefing here today.
The ministry, he said, urged all healthcare workers and frontliners to always adopt necessary precautions.
"Keep your hands clean. Avoid being in crowded or confined spaces at any time such as at the pantry. Maintain a distance of at least one metre during close conversations.
"Ensure that the most frequently touched areas are free of germs, including those commonly used such as the dining area at work. And use appropriate personal protective equipment when dealing with Covid-19 patients."
He said there were 71 new cases recorded between noon yesterday and noon today, bringing the total number of positive cases in Malaysia to 5,603, of which 1,966 were active cases.
He said 42 Covid-19 patients were currently in the intensive care unit (ICU) with 21 requiring respiratory aid.
The ministry, he said, had logged 90 recovered patients, which brings the total number of discharged cases to 3,542 (63.1 per cent).
Dr Noor Hisham added that two Covid-19 fatalities were reported to the ministry's National Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre (CPRC) as of noon today, raising the death toll from the deadly virus in the country to 95 (1.70 per cent).
One of the victims was a healthcare personnel.
The 94th victim (case 3,871), he said, was a 32-year-old Malaysian with a history of hypertension.
She was a medical worker with the ministry and had close contact with Covid-19 positive case 3,662 - relating to the cluster case at the specialist hospital in Muar, Johor.
She was treated at Hospital Enche' Besar Hajjah Khalsom, Johor, on April 6 and was pronounced dead on April 23 at 12.36pm. This is the third death among the ministry's health workers.
Meanwhile, the 95th victim (case-4129) was a Malaysian man aged 67 who had a history of diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and kidney disease.
He had a close contact history with Covid-19 positive case 1,575 (related to the Bali PUI cluster).
He was treated at the Tengku Ampuan Afzan Hospital in Pahang on April 8 and was pronounced dead on April 22 at 11.48pm.