CORONAVIRUS | Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said 60 traders at the Taman Megah morning market in Petaling Jaya will be screened and tested after one of the traders there was confirmed positive for Covid-19.
“As part of our active case detection of close contact, I was informed there are 60 traders there. We have closed the market, and we will screen and test all 60 because they are considered close contact.
“So we hope that we will be able to detect anyone who is positive who is associated with him,” he said in the daily press briefing at the Health Ministry in Putrajaya today.
Earlier, Bandar Utama assemblyperson Jamaliah Jamaluddin had said her office received information about a trader at the market who was confirmed positive for Covid-19.
She also said regulars at the morning market were advised to get tested for Covid-19 as well, especially those who presented symptoms.
However, Noor Hisham said this is not necessary unless they had close contact with the traders.
“Unless they have close contact, then only they need to do testing.
“But what is more important, we want to encourage them to avoid public gathering, distancing is very important, make sure they continue to wash their hands from one stall to another.
“This is a new norm that we need to make sure that we take all the precautionary measures and maintain good personal hygiene,” he said.
Noor Hisham added that despite the possibility of reinfections, Malaysia has not had any such cases out of 5,780 individuals who were infected.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) had yesterday said there is no evidence yet that recovered Covid-19 patients cannot be reinfected.
Noor Hisham (photo) had also said that it is true the antibodies in a recovered patient’s body is not sufficient to prevent an individual from being reinfected with Covid-19.
On a separate matter, the Health director-general said they will re-examine the implementation of the screening and testing at Menara City One, which is currently under the enhanced movement control order (MCO).
This is after the residents complained that they were ordered to come out of their units all at once for mass screening, which resulted in crowding throughout the process.
Previously, Noor Hisham had said this had happened due to a breakdown in communications.
As such, he said in today’s press conference, the Health Ministry will work closely with the police to avoid such crowding from happening again.
“Perhaps we will look, not at the whole block, but probably level by level.
“I think it is more towards coordination and we have instructed the authorities to take action on this,” he said.
Noor Hisham also addressed concerns that healthcare workers might be at risk of being infected with Covid-19 due to the dwindling supply of personal protective equipment (PPEs).
He stressed again that none of the healthcare workers who are on duty in Covid-19 wards or treating Covid-19 patients had been infected.
About 80 percent of healthcare workers who tested positive for Covid-19 so far, he said, were infected from their community such as after attending a wedding.
“When they come back to the hospital, they tend to infect other healthcare workers. It is not that they are working in the Covid-19 wards or even treating Covid-19 patients.
“It is not an issue of PPE,” he said.
Another market in Bahau, Negeri Sembilan was also closed today after a trader was found to be positive with Covid-19 there.
Noor Hisham said the Bahau trader is from the Kuala Lumpur wholesale market, who had travelled from Kuala Lumpur back to Bahau to run his business.
However, he said, this is not a new cluster and that the ministry considers the Bahau trader to be part of the Kuala Lumpur wholesale market cluster. - Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.