Malaysia's Covid-19 situation improves but overseas threat grows

CORONAVIRUS | The number of Covid-19 cases in the country may be on the downtrend, but there is now increasing threats from imported cases.

Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said 77 Malaysians returning from overseas have been tested positive for Covid-19 since the implementation of compulsory isolation at quarantine centres on April 3.

"In the last few days, the number of daily cases are showing an encouraging downward trend.

"However, the Health Ministry has detected a number of Covid-19 cases involving Malaysians returning from overseas.

"This had been anticipated, considering more than 180 countries have been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic," he told a press conference in Putrajaya today.

Of the 57 new Covid-19 cases today, 18 were from Malaysians returning from abroad.

He reiterated that the compulsory isolation at quarantine stations was the right decision.

He said to date, 12,160 Malaysian returning from abroad have been quarantined and 7,910 tests conducted.

He said the overseas cases had also contributed to an apparent spike in cases for certain areas.

However, these are not a case of patients infecting the local community but simply because that is where they are being quarantined.

"For example, there was an increase of 37 cases in Malacca, 32 in Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, three in Sarawak, three in Johor and two in Selangor.

"They have been isolated and given treatment at hospitals," he said.

Noor Hisham said this fact would need to be considered moving forward amid talks of lifting the movement control order (MCO).

"If we lift our border control, there is a big likelihood that Malaysians will bring the disease back," he said.

[More to follow] - Mkini