Local Covid-19 infections return with 5 new cases

CORONAVIRUS | There were five new local Covid-19 infections reported as of noon today, breaking a two-day streak when there were no local infections.

There were also eight new imported cases resulting in a total of 13 new infections.

There were also 12 recoveries as of today. Total active cases are 64.

Of the new local infections, three were Malaysians and two were non-citizens.

The Malaysians were two Sarawakians with a severe acute respiratory infection, while the third was an individual in Kuala Lumpur who tested positive while being screened to return to work.

The two non-citizens were immigration depot detainees who tested positive on a second swab before deportation.

There were no new deaths recorded today, which means the total deaths related to Covid-19 still stands at 121.

Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the ministry is still actively monitoring cases of severe acute respiratory infections (Sari) in Malaysia to detect Covid-19 cases.

He said the monitoring system successfully detected two of the new cases today.

As of July 10, he said 20,897 samples were taken in Sari cases with a total of 79 cases confirmed positive for Covid-19.

“This positive rate is less than one percent which means there is a low infection rate in Malaysia.

“Even though it is low, the surveillance system in Malaysia can still detect these cases because it has the capacity and good detection capabilities,” he said.

On a separate matter, Noor Hisham said the Maeps Covid-19 low-risk treatment and quarantine centre (PKRC) in Serdang saw its last patient discharged today.

“Health Minister Dr Adham Baba witnessed the process of the last patient discharged from Maeps PKRC, Serdang today.

“As such, the centre will officially end its operations on July 15, 2020,” Noor Hisham said.

The Maeps PKRC started operating on April 16, 2020 and received its first patient on April 21, 2020.

It was a collaboration between various agencies led by the Health Ministry and includes the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma), the police, the military, the fire and rescue department, the immigration department and various others.

A total of 1,362 patients were quarantined and treated at the Maeps PKRC, with a majority of them being foreign citizens, while 14 percent of the patients were Malaysian citizens.