Health DG: Covid-19 test for ex-minister, deputy minister will be known today

Health Ministry director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah has confirmed that a former minister and former deputy minister had been in close contact with a Covid-19 patient.

Sin Chew Daily reported Noor Hisham as saying that their Covid-19 test results will be known later today.

Separately, Noor Hisham told Malaysiakini that none of the close contacts of the Covid-19 patient, which health authorities have traced so far, have been found to be positive with the virus.

However, he said efforts are still ongoing to trace the remaining close contacts and have them tested for the virus. 

"We will continue to trace the contacts," Hisham (photo) told Malaysiakini.

"To date, none of the close contacts to patient 26 is tested positive," he said.

The particularly Covid-19 patient is from 26th case in Malaysia.

He is is a senior member of Khazanah Nasional Berhad and UDA Holding Berhad leadership and had attended a ministry function with the former minister and former deputy minister.

It was an appreciation event as they were leaving the ministry following the dissolution of the Pakatan Harapan government.

The event took place on Feb 27 at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur.

Both Khazanah Nasional Berhad and UDA Holdings Berhad yesterday confirmed that one of their employees had been infected with Covid-19.

The Health Ministry yesterday announced four new Covid-19 cases, bringing the total cases to 29.

According to the Health Ministry, patient 26 had travelled to Shanghai in the middle of January.

He developed a fever and sore throat on Feb 27, on the same day of the event, and was tested positive for Covid-19 on Feb 29.

He has been admitted to the Sungai Buloh Hospital isolation ward.

Based on photographic evidence, patient 26 was seen standing close to the former minister and former deputy minister at the event.

One of them has joined the new Perikatan Nasional coalition while the other is with Pakatan Harapan.

They had mingled with their fellow MPs during a series of political meetings to deal with the political deadlock that followed after the Harapan government collapsed on Monday.

- Mkini