Infected dead body causes virus scare in Sabah’s Pulau Gaya

Policemen carry the dead body of an illegal immigrant, who has since been found to have been infected with the Covid-19 virus. (Sabah police pic)

KOTA KINABALU: The body of a man who committed suicide in Pulau Gaya earlier this month was found to have Covid-19, and would have exposed the deadly virus to 12 policemen who handled the corpse

Kota Kinabalu police chief Habibi Majinji said the 26-year-old illegal immigrant committed suicide on the island on April 6.

His body was found hanged by a tree near a forest.

A post-mortem confirmed that he was Covid-19 positive.

“Six police officers who carried the body and had direct contact, and six other officers involving the cameraman, boatmen and driver have been instructed immediately to undergo  home quarantine.

“If any of the six officers were found positive, we might be forced to close down the Pulau Gaya police station,” he told reporters today.

Habibi said so far, health screenings on the policemen turned out to be negative.

He said the policemen were only equipped with face masks and gloves when they handled the body as that was the standard operating procedure.

Pulau Gaya has been under a partial lockdown since March 25, with some 1,600 residents on the island being screened for the virus.

On March 31, the state health Department confirmed three Covid-19 cases on the island. - FMT