New coronavirus case involving Malaysian reported, bringing total to 17

The health ministry says five of the confirmed cases are Malaysians and the other 12 are China nationals.

PETALING JAYA: Another Malaysian has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 17, including five Malaysians.

The 65-year-old woman is the mother-in-law of the first Malaysian to have contracted the virus, and also suffers from high blood pressure, diabetes, is paralysed in one half of her body and relies on a pacemaker.

She is being treated in an isolation ward at the Sungai Buloh Hospital and is in stable condition.

Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said today the woman had come into close contact with her son-in-law at a Chinese New Year reunion with family members on Jan 26, 27 and 28.

“On Feb 5, she complained that she was dizzy, sweating and weak although she did not have a fever. She was then treated at a private hospital as an outpatient.

“Later, she was allowed to go home with a follow-up appointment on Feb 7,” Noor Hisham said in a statement.

He said that after the son-in-law was detected as the index case, the woman was tracked by the district health authorities before testing positive later yesterday, while other family members were cleared.

The woman has no travel history to China, and contact tracing efforts are ongoing, he said.

Besides the five Malaysians, the other 12 confirmed cases in Malaysia involve China nationals.

Noor Hisham said the four family members of the first case detected in Singapore are reportedly healthy, with two of them being cleared of the virus after two re-examinations.

The other two are awaiting the results of their second re-examination and will be discharged once they are confirmed to be negative.

He said the coronavirus situation is under control with no reports of sustained human-to-human transmission and isolated cases. -FMT