19 police personnel in Cheras test positive for Covid-19 - KL police chief

 

COVID-19 | The Cheras district police headquarters (IPD) has become the latest government premises to be affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

This comes after 19 of its personnel were tested positive for Covid-19 as of 5pm today.

According to Kuala Lumpur police chief, commissioner Saiful Azly Kamaruddin, 20 more have been screened for the novel coronavirus, of which nine tested negative while the other 11 are still waiting for their results.

"So far, 19 have been found positive," he said this evening.

Malaysiakini had contacted Saiful to get his comments on the situation at Cheras police headquarters and if this would affect police operations in the district.

This comes after a message had gone viral early today on Covid-19 outbreak at the police headquarters.

"So far, IPD Cheras is still able to conduct its daily duties without the need for reinforcement from outside.

"They still can sustain without a problem. The IPD is also open to the public, and sanitisation works have been carried out at the buildings inside the headquarters area.

"I would like to thank the Cheras district health office for helping out the Cheras police chief in conducting screenings and sanitisation works there," he said.

It is learned that the positive cases were detected through close contact tracing activities by the health authorities after a Covid-19 detection test on a police personnel there came back positive yesterday.

Malaysiakini had contacted the Cheras Health Office earlier in the afternoon, and an officer said that decontamination works had been carried out at the buildings.

Members of the public, the officer added, can still go to the IPD but they would be subject to stringent procedures.

Yesterday, the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) issued a statement stating that its offices located at the government complex in Jalan Tuanku Abdul Halim (Jalan Duta) would be closed between today and Friday for sanitisation works.

While it did not reveal the reason for closure, sources close to the taxation agency said that a staff member tested positive for Covid-19 yesterday.

It is learned that the positive case is a staff who has direct contact with every department in the offices, hence a considerable number of the IRB team there have to be screened for Covid-19 as well. - Mkini