PUTRAJAYA: Putrajaya has set up a special task force to bring home Malaysians stuck in Wuhan after the city was locked down on Jan 23 to curb the spread of the deadly Wuhan coronavirus.
The task force consists of representatives from the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma), National Security Council (NSC), the armed forces, Air Asia and Malaysian Airlines.
Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad said discussions on getting the Malaysians home were ongoing.
“The foreign ministry is still having discussions on this and compiling the actual number (of Malaysians in Hubei province),” he told reporters here.
The press conference was held to give the media the latest update on the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak in Malaysia.
Malaysia has recorded eight confirmed cases so far.
When asked on measures that would be taken if Wuhan authorities stopped foreign nationals from leaving the city, Dzulkefly said the evacuation exercise must have the agreement of the local authorities.
“It is not just about bringing them back. We need all the details,” he added.
Dzulkefly also said the ministry could not ascertain if the eighth case confirmed today was due to human-to-human contact in Malaysia or if the patient had been infected in Wuhan.
He said the 49-year-old woman and her family came to Malaysia on Jan 23 and the incubation period was two weeks.
The China national is considered a “close contact” case as she is the wife of the seventh patient who contracted the virus. She was wearing a mask and followed all other requirements when visiting her husband.
“We are trying to find out where she was infected,” Dzulkefly said, adding that the victim was also in close contact with her two children, aged 2 and 11, who had also been infected with the coronavirus.
He said all eight patients, who were all China nationals, were in stable condition.
Dzulkefly also said his ministry would be getting 25 additional thermal scanners.
He said special lanes for Chinese tourists would continue to be implemented at entry points to check for temperature.
He also acknowledged the shortage of face masks.
Asked if Malaysia would follow Singapore’s lead in giving free masks, he said he would not rule out any measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Asked about the shortage of face masks in Malaysia, Dzulkefly said there were 42 local companies supplying the masks but the demand was too high.
This morning, China confirmed that its death toll from the 2019-nCoV epidemic has risen to 170 while the number of verified infections grew to 7,711.
The virus has now been confirmed in 20 countries spanning Asia, Europe, the Middle East and North America. - FMT
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